JNlJ-iU^ 


ESEK    HOPKINS 


BOOKS  BY  EDWARD  HELD. 


Tax  Lists  of  the  Town  of  Providence  during  the 
Administration  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  1686- 
1689. 

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Revolutionary  Defences  in  Rhode  Island. 

WriH  Maps,  Plans,  and  Ilhstrations 
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The  Colonial  Tavern  :  A  Glimpse  of  New  England 
Town  Life  in  the  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth 
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Esek  Hopkins:  Commander=ln=Chief  of  the  Con= 
tinental  Navy  during  the  American  Revolution, 
'775  to  '778- 

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From  the  fainliiii;  Oy  lltaiie,  in  lite  possession  of  Brown    University,  Providence. 
I'ortrail  I'late  6. 


ESEK     HOPKINS 

CoMMANDER-IN-ClIIKF 


The   Continental    Navy 
during  the  amr:rican   revolution 

1775    to    1778 


MASTER  MARINER,  POLITICIAN  , 
BRIGADIER  GENERAL,  NAVAL 
OFFICER  AND   PHILANTHROPLST 


EDWARD    FIELD    A.  B. 


PKOVIDENCK 

THE    PRESTON    &    ROUNDS    CO 


Edition  limited  to  300  copies 

143 


of  which  this  is  No. 


Copyright,  i8g8, 

BY 

EDWARD     FIELD 


I'KESS   OK 

K.   I,.   l-'RF.EMAN    a   SONS, 

I'KOVIIJIENCF.,  R.   I. 


^07 


TO    MY    FRIEND 

HORATIO  ROGERS,  LL.D., 

JUSTICE    OF    THE 

SUPREME    COURT    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 


963S28 


NTRODUCTION 


But  slender  justice  has  been  rendered  to 
the  services  of  Esek  Hopkins  in  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution.  Historians  could  not  omit 
all  reference  to  the  first  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  American  Navy,  but  the  manner  in 
which  some  of  them  have  mentioned  him 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  they  wrote  not 
from  their  fulness,  but  from  their  lack  of 
knowledge  concerning  him.  The  only 
positive  information  most  writers  had  of 
him,  apparently,  was  that  he  had  been  dis- 
missed from  the  naval  service,  and  hence 
they  inferred  that  he  must  have  deserved 
his  fate.  The  more  satisfactory  method  of 
historical  portrayal  would  have  been  to  have 
narrated  the  causes  that  led  to  that  treatment 
and  let  the  reader  draw  his  own  conclusions 
as  to  the  justice  of  it. 


y  j  /X  TROD  UC  TION 

The  narrow  escape  of  various  eminent 
characters  in  our  national  history  from  super- 
sedure  or  condemnation,  warns  us  that  official 
action  is  by  no  means  a  sure  guide  to  a  just 
judgment.  The  machinations  of  a  cabal  of 
discontented  generals  at  one  time  fomented 
trouble  for  Washington  in  the  Continental 
Congress,  while  the  jealousy  of  Halleck, 
when  commanding  our  army  in  the  late  Civil 
W  ar,  well  nigh  accomplished  the  displace- 
ment of  Grant. 

Whatever  my  own  estimate  of  Esek  Hop- 
kins may  be,  however,  I  have  presented  the 
facts  just  as  I  have  gleaned  them,  that  each 
may  judge  for  himself  what  manner  of  man 
he  was. 

I  have  drawn  my  material  entirely  from 
official  records,  manuscripts  and  standard 
authorities.  Of  the  very  highest  value  have 
been  the  Hopkins  Papers,  preserved  in  the 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  consisting 
of  the  official  orders  and  letters  of  Hopkins 
while  Commander-in-Chief,  covering  the 
whole  period  of  his  connection  with  the 
navy,  and  of  a  number  of  volumes  of  corre- 


IN77WDUC770N  yjj 

spondence  and  other  papers  relating  to  other 
parts  of  his  life. 

The  Hopkins  Papers  were  deposited  in 
the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  with 
the  consent  of  the  Hopkins  heirs.  It  is 
remarkable  that  so  many  of  them  have 
been  preserved  after  the  years  of  neglect 
which  they  suffered,  being  stored  in  old 
attics  and  taken  from  place  to  place  and 
exposed  for  sale.  Sonie,  doubtless,  have 
disappeared,  but  those  remaining  comprise 
the  greater  part  that  relate  to  Hopkins' 
naval  service. 

These  papers  are  preserved  in  four  volumes 
the  first  being  the  letters  and  orders  of  the 
Commander-in-Chief,  i  776-1  777;  the  second 
consists  of  letters  and  miscellaneous  papers 
1728-1786;  the  third  contains  similar  docu- 
ments, 1776-177S;  the  fourth  is  a  volume 
of  type-written  copies  of  various  papers  de- 
posited in  the  national  archives. 

These  copies  were  made  some  years  ago 
at  the  sugorestion  of  Richard  S.  Howland, 
Esq.,  editor  of  the  Providence  Journal,  many 
inquiries  having   been   made    regarding   the 


VI 11 


INTRODUCTION 


official  record  of  Hopkins  service  in  the 
navy.  Mr.  Howland  requested  that  a  search 
be  instituted  at  the  several  departments  at 
Washino^ton  for  all  the  material  relatins:  to 
Hopkins  in  possession  of  the  national  govern- 
ment, and  that  it  be  brought  together  for 
historical  purposes.  In  response  to  this 
request,  the  departments  very  courteously 
forwarded  typewritten  copies  of  all  documents 
bearing  on  the  subject  and  they  were  en- 
trusted to  the  Rhode  Island  Historical 
Society  for  safe  keeping. 

Besides  these  papers,  the  writings  of  John 
Adams  contain  much  in  regard  to  the  pro- 
ceedings in  Congress  when  Hopkins  was 
under  investigation  by  that  body,  while  the 
records  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  testify 
to  his  unremitting  labors  in  the  public  service 
for  a  long  term  of  years.  But  it  is  no  part 
of  my  purpose  to  weary  the  reader  by  here 
detailing  all  my  authorities  ;  suffice  it  to  say 
that  those  I  have  mentioned  form  the  chief. 

In  preparing  this  volume  the  exact  lan- 
guage of  letters,  orders,  and  official  proceed- 
ings has  been  preserved  as  far  as  possible,  as 


IiV  TROD  UC  TIOM 


IX 


it  seemed  to  me  to  imj^art  a  clearer  signifi- 
cance than  when  smoothed  \\\)  or  rounded 
out  bv  a  revising-  hand. 

I  desire  to  acknowledge  m\-  obligations 
to  tlie  Hon.  Amos  Perry,  Librarian  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  for  his 
kindly  courtesy  in  aiding  me  in  procuring 
material,  and  to  Mr.  Fred  A.  Arnold,  of 
Providence,  who  has  permitted  me  to  use 
his  valuable  collection  of  old  prints  in 
making  many  of  the  illustrations  for  this 
work. 

Edward  Field. 

Providence,  R.  /.,  November,  iSg8. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

I'AOE. 

Ancestry  and  Early  Life i 

CHAPTER  II 

Military  Services  and  the    Beginning    of 

THE  American  Revolution        ....     36 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Origin  of  a   Navy   and  the   Appoint- 
ment OF  a  Com.mandkr-in-Chief    ...     63 

CHAPTER  IV 
The  First  Cruise  of  the  American  Flei:t   103 

CHAPTER  V 

The  Congressional  IN(^^'lK^ 141 

CHAPTER  \T 
The  Conspiracy  and  Dismissai 17S 

CHAPTER  VII 
Closing  Years 2^7 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


EseU  Hopkins,  Poitrait  Plate  6  .  .  .  Frontispiece 
Scene  in  a  I*nl)lic  House  in  .Surinam      ....      28 

Esek  Hopkins,  Portrait  Plate  i 44 

Captain  Abraham  Whipple 6S 

Captain  Nicholas  Biddle S2 

Esek  Hopkins,  Portrait  Plate  2 104 

Esek  Hopkins'  Spy  Glass i  i  i 

Map  of  the  Island  of  New    Prcnidence  showing- 
Operations  of  the  First  American  Naval  K\- 

pedition 114 

Esek  Hopkins,  Portrait  Plate  3 136 

Order  for  Prize  jMc^nev         166 

Esek  Ilopkins,  Portrait  Plate  4     ....      .    iSo 

Lieutenant  Seth  Chapin 20S 

Esek  Hopkins,  Portrait  Plate  ^ 224 

Esek  Hopkins'  .Sword .    23S 

Home  of  Esek  Hopkins 242 

Home  of  Esek  Hopkins  (interior,  library)  .  .  248 
Home  of  Esek  Hopkins  (interior,  parlor)  .  .  256 
Ilopkins  Statue 260 


ESEK   HOPKINS 

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF  OF  THE  CONTINENTAL  NAVY 


E 


CHAPTER    I 

ANCESTRY    AND    EARLY    LIFE, 

ARLY  in  the  affairs  of  Rhode  Island, 
appears  the  name  of  Hopkins.  Thomas 
Hopkins,  the  ancestor  of  many  of  those  in 
New  England  who  now  bear  the  name,  was 
one  of  thirty-eight  men  who  joined  in  an 
agreement  for  a  form  of  government  for  the 
little  settlement  which  Roger  Williams  estab- 
lished at  the  head  of  Narragansett  Bay,  and 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  Providence. 

It  was  an  unpromising  settlement  at  first, 
as  all  new  ventures  are  apt  to  be,  for  it  was 
the  first  free  government  to  be  established 
in  the  civilized  world.  Enemies  without  its 
borders  scoffed  at  the  idea  of  a  government 
so  unstable.  I^nemies  within  its  borders, 
by  intrigues  with  the  neighboring  aulliorities. 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


sought  to  overthrow  it,  yet  though  tauntingly 
alluded  to  as  a  "nest  of  unclean  birds"  and 
said  to  be  made  up  of  those  with  minds  too 
weak  or  too  strong  to  assimilate  with  the 
other  colonies,  it  grew  and  flourished,  and 
from  within  its  limits  was  quarried  the  foun- 
dation stone  on  which  our  national  fabric 
rests — civil  liberty. 

With  this  infant  community  Thomas 
Hopkins  identified  himself,  and  ere  the  set- 
tlement had  seen  four  years  of  existence,  was 
already  participating  actively  in  its  affairs. 
Called  upon  by  his  fellow  townsmen  to  fill. 
many  offices  of  public  trust,  he  served  succes- 
sively as  Commissioner,  Deputy  and  Town 
Councilman.  He  was  also  for  a  time  Town 
Sergeant;  an  ancient  manuscript  is  yet  pre- 
served signed  by  Roger  Williams,  directing 
Sergeant  Hopkins  to  warn  certain  townsmen 
to  appear  at  the  "  Towne  House"  and  give 
testimony  in  a  case  then  pending,  between 
Thomas  Angell  and  Robert  West.  Thomas 
Hopkins  was  born  in  England,  April  7,  161 6, 
was  the  son  of  William  and  Joanna  (Arnold) 
Hopkins,  and,  at  his  coming  to  Providence, 
was  a  young  man  twenty-four  years  of  age. 

The  date  of  his   marriage   is  not   known, 
the  name  of   his  wafe  even   is   a  subject  of 


ESEK   nOl'KI.XS  ^ 

conjecture,  liis  great  grandson,'  who  was  six- 
teen years  old  at  the  time  of  his  grandfather's 
death,  noted  in  liis  family  record  that  she  was 
a  daughter  of  William  .Arnold  and  a  sister  of 
Governor  Benedict  Arnold.  This  has  gener- 
ally been  admitted  to  be  the  case  although 
Austin  in  his  Gencalooical  Dicliojiary  of 
Rhode  Island  makes  no  mention  of  it,  but 
another  careful  historical  writer  and  genealo- 
o^ist'  has  found  that  while  there  was  nothing 
to  absolutely  disprove  this  theory,  there  was 
enough  to  create  a  doubt  as  to  its  accuracy. 
Thomas  Hopkins  had  three  sons  all  of  whom 
married  and  had  children.  William  Hopkins, 
the  eldest  son,  was  a  surveyor,  a  man  of  learn- 
ing, and  held  numerous  tow^n  ofifices.  At  the 
time  of  King  Philip's  War  when  the  Colo- 
nial authorities  warned  the  people  of  the  va- 
rious towns  to  remov^e  to  Newport  by  reason 
of  its  greater  security  from  the  depredations 
of  the  savages,  William  Hopkins  "stayed  and 
w^ent  not  away,"  as  the  records  quaintly  note 
this  act  of  heroism.  His  father,  however,  on 
the  breakins:  out  of  the  war,  beino;  well  ad- 
vanced  in  years,  "with  a  i)art  of  his  family 


'  Oovernor  Stephen  Hopkins. 
'■^  'riie  late  All)ert    Holbrook. 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


sought  an  asylum  abroad  to  escape  the  perils 
incident  to  the  struggle,"  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence at  Littleworth,  in  the  Township  of 
Oyster  Bay  on  Long  Island,  where  he  died 
in  1684. 

In  1698  William  Hopkins  was  commis- 
sioned "major  for  the  main  land,"  which  gave 
to  him  the  command  of  the  military  forces 
of  the  mainland  settlements  in  the  colony. 
He  married  Abigail  Dexter,  the  widow  of 
Stephen  Dexter,  who  was  a  son  of  Reverend 
Gregory  Dexter,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  in  Providence,  and  by  her  had  one 
child,  a  son  named  William.  But  few  facts 
relating  to  him  have  been  preserved;  there  is 
no  record  of  the  date  of  his  birth,  marriage  or 
death,  thous^h  his  wife  was  Ruth  Wilkinson, 
a  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Plain  ( WMckenden) 
Wilkinson,  her  father  being  a  son  of  Reverend 
William  Wickenden,  the  successor  of  Rever- 
end Gregory  Dexter.  W^illiam  Hopkins 
junior  was  for  a  time  in  Providence,  but  he 
removed  to  what  afterwards  became  the  town 
of  Scituate  in  Rhode  Island,  where  he  died 
some  time  between  the  eleventh  of  June  and 
the  ninth  of  October,  1738. 

William  and  Ruth  Hopkins  had  nine  chil- 
dren, their   names   being  William,   Stephen, 


KSEh'   //O/'A/.VS  r 

Rufus,  John,  Hope,  Esek,  Samuel,  Abigail 
and  Susanna,  two  of  their  sons,  Stephen  and 
Esek,  becoming  conspicuous  by  reason  of 
distinguished  j^ublic  service.  Four  of  these 
sons,  William,  John,  Samuel,  and  Esek  fol- 
lowed the  sea,  and  all  but  one  were  masters 
of  vessels.  William,  the  eldest  son,  "was  re- 
markable for  his  dash  and  enterprise,  his 
career  being  marked  by  many  characteristics 
of  a  resolute  and  reckless  nature."  In  evi- 
dence of  this  there  is  a  well  established  fam- 
ily tradition  that  when  a  young  man  but 
nineteen  years  of  age,  being  in  London  at 
the  time  of  a  riot  which  threatened  the  safety 
of 'the  Royal  Family  "he  promptly  organized 
a  force  of  sailors  and  loyal  citizens,  under  the 
insjDiring  cry  'Fall  in  and  protect  the  King', 
and  rushing  to  the  onset,  quelled  the  disturb- 
ance, to  the  great  gratification  of  the  imperilled 
dignitaries."  For  this  act  of  heroism  he  was 
the  recipient  of  many  royal  favors.  He  was 
commissioned  a  colonel  by  King  George  I, 
but  service  in  America'  being  more  to  his 
liking  he  sold  his  commission  and  returned 
home.  There  is  yet  preserved  among  the 
possessions  of  the  Rhode  Island  Historical 
Society  a  fragment  of  a  coat  which  originally 
formed  a  part  of  a  court  suit  presented   to 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


William  Hopkins  for  his  gallantry  on  this 
occasion.  This  suit  was  carefully  kept  by 
him,  and  after  his  death  the  desire  to  secure 
this  interesting  relic  became  so  great  among 
his  numerous  descendants,  that  it  was  cut  into 
pieces,  and  the  parts  distributed  among  them. 
The  piece  thus  preserved  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  late  Stephen  Randall,  who  mar- 
ried one  of  the  descendants,  and  by  him  was 
presented  to  the  society  where  it  now  remains. 
Another  brother,  Captain  John  Hopkins,  died 
atsea,  while  yet  another.  Captain  vSamuel  Hop- 
kins, died  at  Hispaniola  while  on  a  voyage. 
The  services  of  Stephen  Hopkins  to  the 
colony  of  Rhode  Island  and  to  America  are 
a  part  of  the  nation's  history.  Esek  Hopkins, 
another  son  of  William  and  Ruth  Hopkins, 
was  born  April  26,  i  718,  within  the  territory 
now  included  in  the  town  of  Scituate,  R.  I., 
but  then  a  part  of  the  town  of  Providence. 
The  neighborhood  about  the  Hopkins  home- 
stead farm  was  called  by  the  Indian  name  of 
Chopomisk,  and  was  in  the  midst  of  a  wild 
and  sparsely  settled  country.  His  boyhood 
days  were  spent  upon  the  farm,  but  upon  his 
father's  death,  being  then  "a  stout,  tall  and 
handsome  young  man,"  twenty  years  of 
age,  he  journeyed  to   Providence,  where  he 


KSEK   JIOI'KIXS  y 

obtained  a  berth  on  a  vessel  then  alDout  to  sail 
for  Surinam,  and  entered  upon  a  seafarin^r 
life.  Two  of  his  brothers,  John  and  Samuel, 
were  at  this  time  masters  of  vessels  which  no 
doubt  influenced  him  in  taking  to  the  sea. 

At  this  period  the  commercial  activity  of 
Rhode  Island  was  evidenced  by  ships  from 
her  waters  in  all  ports  of  the  world.  There 
was  hardly  a  vessel  engaged  in  the  carrying 
trade  in  the  colonies  but  what  numbered 
among  its  crew,  or  had  for  a  master,  a  Rhode 
Islander.  Born  and  brought  up  within  a  col- 
ony with  a  navigable  coast  line  of  more  than 
two  hundred  miles,  dotted  here  and  there  with 
ships  loading  and  unloading  at  the  wharves, 
or  keels  stretching  out  upon  the  sandy  beach- 
es, it  was  but  natural  that  a  spirit  of  adventure 
should  have  been  awakened  among  her  people 
for  a  life  which  offered  so  many  opportunities 
for  advancement  and  gain,  as  well  as  affording 
means  for  acquiring  greater  knowledge  by 
contact  with  the  great  world  outside.  "  It 
was  no  accident,"  says  a  learned  writer,  "that 
from  a  period  long  preceding  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  the  term  '  Rhode  Islander'  had 
come  to  be  synonymous  with  'a  born  sailor.'" 

Hopkins  entered  upon  his  new  life  with 
all  the  spirit  and  zest  which  characterized  the 


3  ESEK'  HOPKINS 

seamen  of  those  days.  He  soon  rose  to  the 
command  of  a  vessel  and  took  a  prominent 
rank  among  New  England  master  mariners. 
When  twenty-three  years  of  age  he  married 
Desire  Burroughs,  a  daughter  of  Ezekiel  Bur- 
roughs, a  leading  merchant  and  ship  master 
of  Newport,  R.  I.,  the  ceremony  being  per- 
formed in  that  town,  by  the  Reverend  Nicholas 
Eyres,  on  November  28,  1741.  At  this 
time  he  was  living  in  Providence,  but  upon 
his  marriage  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
Newport,  from  which  port  he  sailed  in  com- 
mand of  various  ships  engaged  in  the  carrying 
trade.  About  the  year  1748,  Hopkins  re- 
moved from  Newport  to  Providence,  and  at  a 
general  town  meeting  held  on  August  30  of 
that  year,  was  propounded  as  a  freeman  of  the 
town  of  Providence.  It  does  not  appear  how- 
ever, that  he  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  required 
of  all  freemen  until  January  14,  1750,  nearly 
two  years  later.  During  these  years  he  was 
doubtless  at  sea,  which  precluded  his  appear- 
ing in  open  town  meeting  and  swearing  alle- 
giance, as  was  the  custom. 

He  early  became  interested  in  the  cause 
of  education,  and  almost  the  first  official  duty 
which  he  performed  for  the  town  was  on  a 
committee  to  have  the  care  of  the  "townes 


ESEK   HOPKINS  g 

schole  and  of  appointing  a  schole  master,"' 
Associated  with  him  on  the  committee  were 
Nicholas  Cooke,  who  afterwards  became  Gov- 
ernor of  the  colony,  Joseph  Olney,  Elisha 
Brown,  and  John  Mawney,  and  all  leading 
men  in  the  town  affairs.  The  deep  interest 
which  the  committee  gave  totheduty  of  hiring 
the  school  master,  and  the  earnestness  with 
which  they  regarded  the  matter  of  education, 
is  shown  in  one  of  the  articles  of  the  indenture 
executed  by  the  committee  and  George  Tay- 
lor, who  was  selected  to  direct  the  young 
ideas  in  this  town  school  for  the  year  1753, 
for  it  was  provided  "he  school  or  teach  one 
poor  child  such  as  said  committee  shall  rec- 
ommend gratis  or  for  nothing  during  said 
term."  How  much  credit  is  due  Hopkins 
in  this  movement  for  the  establishment  of  a 
town  school  cannot  of  course  be  determined. 
It  is  certain  however,  that  up  to  this  time  there 
had  been  no  official  action  taken  towards  the 
education  of  the  youth  of  the  town.  William 
Turpin  many  years  before  had  served  as 
schoolmaster  under  some  town  sanction  and 
had  carried  on  his  instructions  at  his  tavern, 
but  so  far  as  any  evidence  is  found,  this  was 
the  first  school  committee  appointed  to  estab- 
lish a  place  for  instructing  the  children,  and 


lO 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


from  this  small  beginning  developed  the 
splendid  S3'Stem  for  which  this  town  subse- 
quently became  widely  noted. 

Long  years  after  this  Hopkins  was  called 
to  give  his  services  in  the  cause  of  education, 
and  for  twenty  years  he  was  a  trustee  of  Rhode 
Island  College,  now  Brown  University,  and 
was  highly  esteemed  by  Manning,  its  distin- 
guished president. 

During  what  is  generally  termed  the  "Old 
French  War,"  from  1754  to  i  763,  privateer- 
ing was  largely  engaged  in  by  the  people  of 
New  England  ;  Rhode  Island  merchants  es- 
pecially, fitted  out  at  great  expense  numerous 
vessels  to  prey  upon  the  commerce  of  the 
enemy ;  so  enthusiastic  were  the  privateers- 
men  at  this  period  and  so  intent  were  they 
upon  the  capture  of  desirable  prizes,  that  not 
only  ships  hailing  from  ports  of  France  and 
her  colonies  but  those  hailing  from  other 
countries  were  attacked,  captured  and  taken 
into  New  England.  Spain  especially  suffered 
from  these  captures,  until  at  last  formal  com- 
plaint was  made,  through  Mons'r  d'Abreu, 
envoy  extraordinary  from  His  Catholic  Maj- 
esty, to  the  King,  and  Rhode  Island  was 
promptly  rebuked  for  these  outrages  or  dep- 
redations,   as    they    were    plainly   called,   by 


KSEK   IIOrKlXS  I  , 

William  Pitt,  tlie  Home  Secretary,  in  his 
letter  to  the  Governor  of  Rhode   Island. 

It  is  during  this  period  that  most  of  the 
references  to  Hopkins'  early  maritime  ad- 
ventures are  found,  and  these  are  nearly  all 
connected  with  the  year  1757.  That  he  com- 
manded a  privateer  and  was  eminently  suc- 
cessful in  his  cruises  seems  certain.  Moses 
Brown  of  Providence,  afterwards  a  leading 
merchant,  wrote  on  February  23,  1757, 
"  Capt.  Esek  Hopkins  has  Taken  and  sent 
in  here  a  snow  of  about  150  tons,  Laden  with 
wine,  oil,  Dry  goods  &:c  to  ye  amount  of  about 
^6000  ye  greater  part  of  which  will  be  Ex- 
posed to  publick  Vendue  ye  Tuesday  next." 

On  the  fifteenth  of  September  John  Brown 
of  Providence,  a  brother  of  Moses  Brown,  and 
later  his  business  partner,  writing  from  Phila- 
delphia says,  "by  a  man  from  New  Providence 
have  heard  that  Capt  Esek  Hopkins  &  Ch- 
Waterman  put  in  there  about  the  middle  of 
Aug  Last  to  Cleane  there  Vessel  &  that  they 
both  saled  on  there  Cruse  about  the  20th  of 
Augst  but  had  Taken  nothing  before,  but 
what  have  heard  of."  Among  the  private 
papers  left  by  Hopkins  is  an  "  acct  sales  of 
Sundry  prize  goods  sold  at  Vendue  taken  by 
Capt  Esek    Hopkins  and  condemned  in  the 


12 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


Court  of  Vice  Admiralty  of  Connecticut."  It 
is  dated  at  New  London,  November,  i  75  7,  and 
certainly  indicates  that  the  days  succeeding 
the  20th  of  August  were  not  spent  unprofit- 
ably.  From  these  it  would  seem  that  he 
was  identified  with  vessels  belonQ-ins^  to  the 
Browns.  It  was  during  the  year  previous  to 
these  privateering  ventures  that  Hopkins 
established  himself  on  a  farm  consisting  with 
subsequent  purchases  of  more  than  two  hun- 
dred acres,  situated  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  town.  He  had  doubtless  accumulated 
a  substantial  store  of  this  world's  goods  from 
his  voyages  and  from  mercantile  pursuits,  for 
he  is  called  in  deeds  both  mariner  and  shop 
keeper,  and  was  thus  able  to  establish  a  com- 
fortable home  for  his  family  which  at  the  time 
of  this  purchase,  June  26,  1756,  consisted  of 
his  wife  and  six  children,  the  youngest  a 
daughter  not  yet  two  months  old. 

He  did  not  however  remain  ashore  to  pur- 
sue the  life  of  a  farmer ;  the  dash  and  excite- 
ment incident  to  life  on  board  a  privateer, 
the  enticing  visions  of  greater  profit  from 
successful  voyages  to  the  Spanish  main  and 
the  Indies  proved  more  attractive  than  the 
less  exciting  occupation  of  a  country  gentle- 
man and  farmer.      His  house,  while  he  was 


ESEK  nOPKlXS  J  - 

ashore,  was  a  popular  gathering  place  for  his 
large  circle  of  acquaintances  and  friends  and 
he  delighted  in  entertaining  them ;  there  were 
hunting  trips  in  the  wild  woods,  sliooting  at 
marks  and  other  sports  to  occupy  the  time 
on  such  occasions,  but  with  all  these  pleasures 
he  found  time  to  devote  much  attention  to 
carrying  on  his  farm,  employing  many  negroes 
in  this  work.  If  he  had  slaves  the  fact  has 
not  been  handed  down.  There  is  an  old  in- 
denture, dated  in  the  year  i  764,  yet  preserved, 
that  testifies  to  his  taking  one  Edward  Abby,  a 
free  negro,  one  of  the  poor  of  the  town,  to 
learn  the  art  of  husbandry.  He  doubtless 
found  the  duties  of  farm  life  irksome  and  unin- 
teresting, compared  with  the  life  at  sea.  Dur- 
ing this  time  ashore  his  services  had  been 
at  the  disposal  of  his  fellow  men,  and  he  filled 
many  positions  of  honor  and  trust,  being  school 
committee-man,  fire  ward,  tax  assessor,  and,  in 
1762,  with  Moses  Brown,  John  Smith,  Benoni 
Pearce,  Nicholas  Tillinghast  and  Benjamin 
Man,  served  as  director  of  a  lottery  author- 
ized by  the  General  Assembly,  to  raise  /^6ooo 
for  paving  the  streets  of  Providence. 

In  the  field  of  political  strife  Hopkins  took 
a  firm  stand.  He  was  uncompromising  and 
positive.      In  the  election  for  colony  otiicers. 


J  ,  ESEh'  IIOrh'fNS 

in  the  spring  of  1763,  Elisha  Brown,  "a  man 
of  great  ability  and  enterjDrise,"  and  a  promi- 
nent politician,  was  a  candidate  for  the  ofifice 
of  Deputy  Governor,  John  Gardner,  of  New- 
port, being  the  opposing  candidate.  Hopkins 
entered  into  the  campaign  with  activity  and 
acrimony.  It  was  in  the  clays  of  what  has 
been  known  as  the  Ward-Hopkins  contro- 
versy, when  Samuel  Ward  and  Stephen  Hop- 
kins, the  two  great  leaders  in  the  political  life 
of  the  colony,  were  arrayed  against  one 
another,  each  advocating  political  opinions 
and  principles  which  kept  the  freemen  of  the 
colony  in  a  ferment  of  party  strife.  So  evenly 
were  the  forces  of  these  two  great  leaders 
matched  that  the  elections  w^ere  always  close, 
Hopkins  being  the  successful  candidate  at  one 
time  to  be  succeeded  by  Ward  the  next.  Dur- 
ing the  period  from  1758  to  1768  Stephen 
Hopkins  held  the  office  of  Governor  from 
March  14, 1  758,  to  May,  1762;  from  May,  1763, 
to  May,  1765;  and  from  May,  1767,  to  May, 
1768;  while  Samuel  Ward  held  the  office  dur- 
ing the  intermediate  years.  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  this  ten  years  struggle  that  Esek 
Hopkins  became  a  prominent  figure,  Elisha 
Brown  was  on  the  ticket  with  Ward  and  the 
fight  was  bitter.     In  addition  to  this,  Hopkins 


KSF.K   JIOPKINS  J  j- 

had  a  personal  interest  in  the  campaign:  he 
was  one  of  the  candidates  for  representative 
to  the  general  assembly  from  the  town  of  Pro\'- 
idence.  The  relations  between  Esek  I  lopkins 
and  his  brother  Stephen  were  always  most 
affectionate  and  friendly,  and  wath  the  ties 
of  brotherhood  he  naturally  became  a  strong 
supporter  of  the  Hopkins' ticket.  Besides  this 
the  relations  between  Mr.  i^rown  and  himself 
wTre  strained,  the  former  having  published 
certain  offensive  information  "  in  a  Boston 
Paper."  In  the  midst  of  the  contest  Hopkins 
prepared  and  caused  to  be  published,  in  the 
columns  of  the  Providence  Gazct/c\  the  fol- 
lowing open  letter: 


'o- 


"  Providenxe,  April  i6,  176, 

The  public  cannot  but  remember  that 
about  tw^o  Years  since  Elisha  Brown,  Esq  ; 
advertised  in  a  Boston  Paper,  that  Mr,  Hop- 
kins had  two  Sons  at  the  Island  of  Hispaniola, 
Masters  of  Mags  of  Truce.  Now  this  very 
identical  Mr.  Brown,  wdio  is  at  this  Time  a 
Candidate  for  Deputy  Governor  of  the  Col- 
ony, has  in  this  great  Scarcity  of  Provision, 
when  one  Half  of  the  Country  is  almost  ready 
to  starve  for  Want  of  bread,  sent  one  of 
his  Sons  in  his  lariie  noted    Brig-  called   the 


i6 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


Wainscot,  with  about  Six  Hundred  Barrels  of 
Flour,and  other  Provisions  on  board,  directly 
to  Port-Louis,  on  the  Island  of  Hispaniola, 
one  of  the  most  bare-faced  Things  that  has 
ever  been  done  in  the  King's  Dominions;  but 
what  cannot  a  Man  of  Mr.  Brown's  Stamp  do? 
I  would  likewise  observe,  that  this  very 
Mr.  Brown,  in  his  Piece  which  he  published 
before  the  Town  Meetings'  in  the  year  1760, 
entitled,  Reflections  upon  the  present  State 
of  affairs  in  this  Colony;  boasted,  "That  he 
had  not  since  the  first  Commencement  of 
the  War,  transported  a  single  barrel  of  Pro- 
vision, nor  so  much  as  a  Firkin  of  Butter 
contrary  to  law";  and  avers,  among  several 
other  Things  of  the  like  Nature,  that  "the 
Exportation  of  such  large  Quantities  of  Pro- 
vision, is  one  principal  Cause  of  the  great 
Scarcity  of  bread  in  the  Colony."  I  would 
refer  the  Public  to  that  whole  Piece,  and 
they  will  soon  perceive  the  Views  he  had 
in  altering  the  Administration,  by  comparing 
his  present  Conduct  with  the  Pretentions  he 

there  makes  t-  tt 

bsEK   Hopkins. 

N.  B.     The    Brig    Wainscot,   sailed    from 
thence  about  the  Month  of  September  last." 

'  Xo  mention  of  this  is  found  among  the  Town  Meeting  records. 


ESEK  IIOPKJXS  J  y 

It  no  doubt  had  its  effect  and  contributed 
to  the  defeat  of  the  Ward  ticket,  for  the  spring 
campaign  of  1763  resulted  in  the  election  of 
Stephen  Hopkins  of  Providence,  Governor, 
and  John  Gardner  of  Newport,  Deputy  Gov- 
ernor. 

In  his  relations  with  his  fellow  men  Hop- 
kins was  frank  and  outspoken,  he  made  no 
attempt  to  conceal  his  opinion  on  subjects 
which  aroused  his  interest  or  appealed  to  his 
sympathies,  aggressiveness  seems  to  have 
been  a  prominent  trait  of  his  character;  it  led 
him  into  controversies  early  in  his  political 
life,  and  it  grew  and  increased  in  magnitude 
as  his  years  advanced. 

He  was  quick  to  penetrate  trickery  or  de- 
ceit and  quicker  still  to  expose  it,  there  was 
a  strong  individuality  to  his  make  up  which 
sometimes  operated  more  to  his  own  discom- 
fort and  disadvantage  than  to  right  the  sup- 
posed grievance  or  to  elevate  himself  in  the 
estimation  of  his  fellow  men.  With  a  char- 
acter strong  and  positive,  coupled  with  the 
dictatorial  manner  of  the  master  mariner  of 
the  times,  he  naturally  made  enemies  and 
became  easily  drawn  into  controversies. 

Not  long  after  he  had  entered  into  political 
life  this  controversial  tendency  asserted  itself; 


jg  ESEK  HOPKINS 

perhaps  in  these  days  he  would  be  called  a 
reformer,  for,  notwithstanding  the  bitterness 
of  his  attacks  on  persons  and  measures,  his 
shafts  were  aimed  at  wrongs  against  his  fellow 
men  although  it  must  be  said  that  insinuations 
aeainst  those  near  and  dear  to  him,  as  the 
charges  brought  by  Mr.  Brown  against  his 
sons,  sometimes  prompted  him  to  defend  if 
not  to  revenge  himself.  In  1753  Hopkins 
was  a  member  of  a  committee  appointed  by 
the  town  to  arrange  for  opening  a  town  school. 
This  committee  selected  George  Ta3dor  for 
the  position  of  instructor,  and  he  entered  upon 
his  duties.  Taylor,  besides  gaining  support 
in  this  venture  from  the  town  and  his  pupils, 
received  also  a  salary  of  ^10  a  year  from  the 
"Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  Foreign  Parts,"  he  being  the  "  Society's 
schoolmaster;"  for  more  than  forty  years  he 
acted  not  only  as  instructor,  but  as  spiritual 
advisor,  to  the  younger  element  in  the  town. 
On  October  18,  1737,  Mr.  Taylor  wrote  to 
this  Society  "that  he  teaches  twenty-three 
whites  and  two  black  children  and  catechises 
them  on  Wednesdays  and  Saturda3's,  explains 
to  them  the  principles  of  religion  which  they 
have  learned  by  heart,"  and  the  Society  in 
its  report  for  that  year  adds  "  this  with  Mr 


ESEk'   nOl'KJXS  jg 

Taylors'  good  life  and  conversation,  comes 
attested  by  Dr.  McSparran."  In  i  776,  nearly 
forty  years  later,  the  Society's  report  says, 
"  Mr.  Taylor,  the  Society's  schoolmaster,  not- 
withstanding his  advanced  age,  gives  con- 
stant attention  to  his  school."  With  the 
Reverend  John  Checkley,  Reverend  Doctor 
McSparran  and  the  Reverend  James  Honey- 
man,  all  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England, 
Taylor  was  on  the  most  intimate  terms, 
while  his  daughter,  married  the  Reverend 
John  Graves,  some  time  "Vicar  of  Chaplin, 
in  Yorkshire,  in  the  Diocese  of  Chester, 
a  most  pious  and  worthy  clergyman,"  and 
brother  to  the  Reverend  Matthew  Graves, 
missionary  at  New  London,  Conn.  Taylor 
seems  to  have  carried  on  the  school  satisfac- 
torily and,  in  addition  to  his  duties  as  pedagog, 
he  filled  the  positions  of  justice  of  the  peace, 
member  of  the  town  council,  and  for  several 
years  was  president  of  that  body.  He  acted 
also  as  scrivener  for  the  townspeople,  and 
many  ancient  documents,  now  preserved, 
testify  to  his  excellence  as  a  penman.  In 
1762  Hopkins  became  involved  with  Taylor 
in  a  bitter  quarrel.  It  is  difficult  to  ascertain 
how  it  came  about  or  the  direct  cause:  it  was 
started  however,  by  Hopkins  in  an  open  letter 


20 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


signed  by  him  and  circulated  about  the  town, 
there  being  no  newspaper  printed  in  Provi- 
dence at  that  date  to  serve  as  a  medium 
between  the  two  disputants.  Only  one  of 
the  letters  in  this  controversy  has  come  to 
light,  and  as  it  furnishes  all  the  information 
known  regarding  the  trouble,  it  is  here  re- 
peated in  full  from  the  original,  on  file  with 
the  Hopkins  papers,  in  the  possession  of  the 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Society. 

"  To  THE  Public. 

A  Brief  Reply  to  a  Paper  signed  by  George 
Taylor,  Esq.,  dated  April  ii,  set  forth  as  an 
Answer  to  one  of  mine,  dated  April  2. 

I  Observe  a  great  Deal  of  Scurrility  thrown 
out  against  me,  and  several  Gentlemen  in 
this  Town ;  but  all  the  answer  I  shall  return 
Mr.  Taylor,  in  respect  to  myself,  and  of  my 
not  writing  my  Piece,  which  he  insinuates, 
is  this.  That  whoever  exposes  the  evil  Prac- 
tices of  a  Miser,  may  expect  to  receive  ill 
Treatment:  And  as  for  the  Gentlemen  he 
hints  at  in  his  Piece,  no  Doubt  they  are  able 
to  Answer  for  themselves. — But  this  much 
I  must  suppose,  that  Mr.  Taylor  has  taken  a 
Suit  for  a  Mortgage,  in  the  Room  of  a  Bond, 
and  that  seems  evident  from  the  Number  of 


ESKK  HOPK'IXS 


21 


Papers  in  the  Case  he  has  produced,  which 
are  Fifteen,  and  in  a  Case  for  a  Bank  liond 
there  should  be  but  Three,  Mr.  Taylor  says, 
he  drew  but  Thirty-two  or  Thirtv-three  of 
the  Bills  of  Cost,  and  Mr.  Jackson  the  Rest, 
as  attorney  to  the  Treasurer;  but  had  Mr. 
Jackson  any  Thing  to  do  with  them  as  an 
Of^cer?  for  the  Clerk  examined,  and  the 
Judge  taxed  them,  no  Doubt  more  than  what 
the  Law  allowed,  in  order  to  Colour  their 
own.  Now  let  us  see  what  Mr.  Taylor  says, 
in  Answer  to  my  Charge  .against  him,  which 
was,  that  he  as  an  Officer  took  more  than 
double  the  Fees  the  Law  allowed.  Why 
truly  he  says,  some  other  People  had  done 
wrong  before  him  ?  And  I  answer,  that  every 
Man  that  has  behaved  ill  might  say  the  same, 
that  there  has  been  bad  Men  before  them. 
Mr.  Taylor  seems  to  confess  that  he  had 
done  wrong,  by  being  new  in  the  Business ;  but 
all  that  are  acquainted  with  him,  know  that 
he  has  held  more  Justice's  Courts  within 
Twenty  Years,  than  all  the  other  Justices  in 
the  County. — I  would  advise,  that  whenever 
a  Miser  is  put  into  an  Office,  that  in  the 
Room  of  his  being  sworn  to  observe  the  Laws 
of  the  Government  he  should  be  sworn  to 
follow  his  own  Interest.      Upon  the  Whole,  I 


22 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


think  it  is  high  Time  there  was  a  Stop  put 
to  the  exorbitant  Fees  not  only  of  the 
Judges  but  the  Sheriffs  also,  who  now  exact 
as  much  as  will  satisfy  their  avaricious  Ap- 
petites, without  any  Regard  to  the  Laws 
they  are  sworn  to  observe. 

EsEK  Hopkins. 
Providence,  April  iS,  1762:" 

Both  these  men  emerged  from  this  conflict 
without  apparent  injury  to  their  character  or 
standing  in  the  community.  Taylor  lived 
for  several  years,  enjoying  the  highest  confi- 
dence of  his  neighbors,  and  was  honored  by 
being  elected  to  offices  of  especial  honor  and 
trust.  He  died  in  1778,  and  by  his  will,  ex- 
ecuted on  the  eighth  day  of  October  of  that 
vear,  he  made  his  son-in-law,  the  Reverend 
John  Graves,  one  of  his  executors.  Graves 
"  was  the  successor  of  the  Reverend  John 
Checkley,of  St.  John's  Church,  in  Providence, 
and  attended  the  service  until  Jul3%  1776. 
He  then  declined  to  officiate,  unless  he  could 
be  permitted  to  read  the  usual  and  ordinary 
prayers  for  the  King,  which  he  considered 
hinself  bound  by  his  ordination  vows  to  offer 
for  him.  The  patriotism  of  his  hearers  for- 
bade this,  and  the  consequence  was   that  the 


ESEK  HOPKINS  ^^ 

church  was  closed  most  of  tlie  time  during 
the  war  of  the  Revohition." 

The  next  year,  as  tlie  time  for  the  election 
approached,  the  two  parties  again  prepared 
for  the  struggle.  There  was  the  same  inten- 
sity of  feeling,  the  same  bitterness  of  pohtical 
strife.  Stephen  Hopkins  and  Samuel  Ward 
were  the  candidates  for  Governor,  and  the 
Ward-Hopkins  controversy  the  issue. 

Esek  Hopkins  was  again  a  candidate  for 
the  legislature  and  active  in  the  campaign. 
He  was  backed  by  strong  and  substantial 
men,  the  Brown  Brothers,  Nicholas,  Moses 
and  John,  leading  men  of  the  town,  men 
too  whose  influence  was  a  power  in  the 
community.  Hopkins  had  commanded  their 
vessels,  they  knew  his  worth,  they  had  iiad 
opportunities  for  a  study  of  his  character 
and  capabilities,  they  believed  in  him  and 
that  confidence  was  reciprocated.  With  the 
Brown  Brothers  and  with  Joseph  Brown  he 
openly  made  political  warfare  against  the 
secretary  of  the  colony,  Henry  Ward,  of 
Newport.  He  was  tainted  with  Ward  heresies 
and  must  Idc  removed,  his  intiuence  was 
powerful,  and  llic  freemen  of  the  colony 
were  warned  to  cast  their  ballots  for  a 
candidate    more    suitable    to    the     Hopkins 


2A  ESEK  HOPKINS 

faction,  and   Hopkins,  with  the   Browns,  sent 
broadcast  this  circular: 

"Providence,  April  2,  1764. 

As  the  present  Secretary  will  not  be  satis- 
fied to  enjoy  his  Office  peaceably,  but  is 
constantly  endeavoring,  by  every  Means  in 
his  Power,  to  remove  the  Governor,  Deputy- 
Governor  and  assistants,  with  whom  he  serves, 
from  their  Offices,  it  hath  been  thought  just 
to  set  up  some  other  Person  for  Secretary, 
who  might  be  careful  to  do  his  Duty,  and 
behave  peaceably  in  his  Office.  And  as  Mr. 
William  Richardson,  a  person  every  Way  well 
qualified,  is  now  Candidate  for  that  Office, 
we  ask  it  as  a  Favor  of  every   Freeman  to 

o-ive  him  a  vote. 

EsEK   Hopkins, 
Nicholas   Brown, 
Joseph   Brown, 
John   Brown,  • 
Moses   Brown." 

The  Brown  and  Hopkins  candidate  for 
secretary  was  defeated.  Governor  Hopkins 
however  was  elected,  as  w^as  also  Esek  Hop- 
kins. Henry  Ward  was  too  firmly  entrenched 
in  his  position  to  be  affected  by  the  influ- 
ences which  made  and  unmade  other  colony 


KSEK  //OPK/.VS  o- 

officials,  and  he  served  in  his  office  with  honor 
and  distinction  for  thirty-seven  years,  when 
death  closed  his  long  and  useful  public  life. 

The  Browns  and  Hopkins  had  been  staunch 
allies  in  this  campaign,  but  a  time  was  com- 
ing when  the  relation  between  these  men 
would  be  strained,  when  all  the  power  and 
influence  which  Hopkins  possessed  would  be 
exerted  against  them,  not  on  account  of  pri- 
vate motives  or  personal  grievances,  but 
because  he  believed  it  a  duty  he  owed  to  the 
cause  which  he  espoused.  His  action  at  this 
time  shows  his  high  patriotic  character  as 
no  other  act  in  his  whole  life  ;  it  discloses  an 
honesty  of  purpose,  a  determination  to  serve 
his  country  first,  all  else  being  subservient  to 
this. 

The  following  year  Esek  Hopkins  was 
again  elected  to  the  general  assembly,  mem- 
bers of  the  lower  house  beins:  then  desio^nated 
as  deputies,  and  he  the  fourth  deputy  from  the 
town  of  Providence.  He  did  not  however 
serve  the  full  term  for  which  he  had  been 
elected,  in  the  service  of  the  colony.  The 
attractions  of  the  sea  were  more  to  his  liking, 
and  the  profits  of  successful  voyages  more 
alluring  than  the  honors  and  excitement  of 
political    life,  and   on    the    "  last   tucsdav    in 


26 


ESEK  HOPKlh'S 


August  1764,"  the  day  on  which  the  Provi- 
dence town  meeting  was  in  session,  he  came 
before  the  freemen  there  assembled,  and 
stated  "  that  he  was  bound  in  a  few  days 
out  of  the  King's  Dominions,  to  abide  for 
a  Long  time,  and  that  he  could  not  repre- 
sent the  town  any  longer".  His  resignation 
was  thereupon  accepted,  and  the  freemen 
proceeded  at  once  to  elect  as  his  successor 
John  Cole,  P^sq.,  the  moderator  of  the  meet- 
ing. Before  Hopkins  entered  again  into 
political  life  great  events  had  taken  place, 
and  greater  ones  were  in  store. 

In  February,  1765,  Captain  Owen,  who 
had  arrived  in  Providence  on  the  13th  of  that 
month  from  the  West  Indies,  reported  that 
"on  the  30th  ult.,  in  Lat.  33  Long.  68,  he 
spoke  with  Captain  Campbell,  in  the  Brig 
'  Gambia  '  of,  and  for  New  York,  from  the 
coast  of  Africa,  who  acquainted  him  of  the 
safe  arrival  of  Captain  Esek  Hopkins,  of  this 
Port  on  the  Coast." 

For  nearly  four  years  he  continued  at  sea, 
making  long  voyages  to  Africa,  China  and  the 
West  Indies  ;  occasionally  during  this  period 
he  is  reported  by  vessels  entering  New  Eng- 
land ports,  and  his  own  safe  arrival  in  Rhode 
Island  is  duly  chronicled  in  the  newspapers. 


ESEK  nOPKhVS  27 

Upon  returning  to  his  native  shores  after 
his  life  at  sea,  Hopkins  found  that  during 
his  absence  the  town  of  North  Providence 
had  been  incorporated,  and  his  homestead 
fell  within  the  lines  of  the  new  town.  It  was 
not  long  before  the  people  of  North  Provi- 
dence sought  his  services  and  advice,  and  at 
the  spring  election  of  i  768  he  was  selected 
as  second  deputy  from  the  new  town.  Before 
this  term  for  which  he  had  been  elected  ex- 
pired, he  was  again  on  the  ocean ;  the  Prov- 
idence Gazette  for  March  16,  1769,  reports 
in  its  marine  intelligence,  "  Capt.  Esek  Hop- 
kins from  Surinam  on  the  i6th  ult  in  Lat 
30,  Long  62^  spoke  the  Brig  'Rose,'  from 
Madeira  for  Philadelphia,  out  for  34  days,  all 
well." 

On  the  third  of  November  following  Cap- 
tain Aulger,  who  had  arrived  in  Providence 
that  day  from  Surinam  after  a  voyage  of 
thirty-seven  days,  reported  that  he  left  at 
that  place  when  he  sailed  Captains  Usek, 
George  and  John  Hopkins,  all  of  Providence. 

It  was  about  this  time,  and  quite  likely 
while  on  this  voyage  that  the  only  life 
portrait  of  Hopkins  now  extant  was  painted. 
This  picture  in  which  his  figure  appears 
represents    a    scene    in    a    public    house    at 


23  ESEK   HOPKINS 

Surinam.  It  so  happened  that  a  large  num- 
ber of  vessels  hailing  from  Rhode  Island 
were  at  this  time  in  port,  and  the  masters 
and  supercargoes,  taking  advantage  of  this, 
made  arrangements  for  an  evening's  pleasure 
ashore,  to  which  a  few  other  choice  friends 
were  invited.  It  is  the  work  of  an  English 
artist  by  the  name  of  Greenwood',  who 
was  of  the  party,  and  vvho  is  said  to  have 
been  a  noted  portrait  painter  of  that  day. 
All  the  figures  are  likenesses  of  the  persons 
who  actually  participated  in  the  carousal, 
and  were  esteemed  very  good  likenesses 
at  the  time.  "Indeed"  wrote  the  owner, 
Dr.  Edward  Wild,  many  years  ago,  "  the 
resemblance  of  several  of  them  can  be  clearly 
traced  in  the  features  of  their  descendants 
of  the  present  day."  The  artist  represents 
himself  as  just  passing  out  the  door  and 
vomiting.  Mr.  Jonas  Wanton,  of  Newport, 
fat,  round  faced,  asleep,  and  just  being  bap- 
tised;  Captain  Ambrose  Page,  vomiting 
into  the  pocket  of  Wanton  ;  Captain  Nicholas 
Cook,  afterwards  Governor  of  Rhode  Island, 
under  a  broad  hat,  with  a  long  pipe,  seated 
at  table  talking  with  Captain  Esek  Hopkins, 

'  I'robably  John  (Jreenwood.  an  engraver  and  painter. 


1  s 

Z         -x 


in     4; 


CD        -^ 

3    s 


ESEK  HOPKINS  2Q 

wearing  a  cocked  hat  and  left  hand  sus])i- 
ciously  holding  a  wine  glass.  Mr.  Godfrey 
Malbone,of  Newport,  dancing,  the  shorter  one 
receiving  the  lesson,  while  Captain  Nicholas 
Power  is  acting  as  instructor ;  a  Dutchman 
seated  on  a  chest  nursing  his  leg,  doubtless 
having  received  a  kick  from  one  of  the  roys- 
terers,  and  several  others  whose  features  are 
not  now  identified.  Several  of  the  party,  some 
six  or  eight,  were  members  of  the  Jenckes 
family,  through  which  family  the  picture 
has  descended  to  its  present  owner,  Edward 
J.  Gushing,  Esq.,  of  North  Providence.  The 
picture  came  into  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Mary 
J.  Wild,  whose  mother  was  a  Jenckes,  soon 
after  her  marriage,  in  1819.  It  was  then  taken 
from  North  Providence  to  Brookline,  and 
in  1825,  as  it  had  become  somewhat  defaced, 
was  turned  over  to  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Laughton,  a  carriage  and  sign  painter,  of 
Brookline,  to  be  repaired.  His  touches  were 
of  the  crudest  character,  and  before  varnish- 
ing it  he  took  the  liberty  of  repainting  the 
floor  a  dull  yellow,  thereby  obliterating  the 
date  and  spoiling  the  perspective.  It  was 
returned  to  North  Providence  to  the  old 
mansion,  the  home  of  Mr.  Gushing,  in  1858, 
where   it   now   rests,  and  where   it  has  been 


;o 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


nearly  all  of  the  time  since  1800.  It  has 
received  some  injury  since  that  time,  yet  it 
is  still  in  good  preservation.  It  is  painted 
on  bed  ticking  and  is  seventy-three  and  three- 
quarters  inches  long  by  thirty-six  and  one- 
half  inches  wide. 

Besides  being  interesting  as  containing 
this  portrait  of  Hopkins,  it  has  some  addi- 
tional interest  from  containing  a  portrait  of 
Hopkins'  life-long  friend,  Captain  Ambrose 
Page,'  even  though  he  may  be  represented- 
in  a  rather  undignified  position. 

The  year  1771  again  found  Hopkins  the 
choice  of  his  townsmen  for  the  legislature, 
and  for  the  next  three  years  he  was  returned 
as  the  first  deputy  from  North   Providence. 

At  this  time  he  seems  to  have  abandoned 
the  sea,  which  he  had  followed  for  nearly 
thirty-five  years.  He  had  acquired  a  com- 
petence, and  he  doubtless  felt  that  he  could 
well  afford  to  settle  down  on  his  farm  and 
enjoy  the  companionship  of  his  wife  and 
family,  from  whom  he  had  been  separated 
much.  He  had  earned  a  well  merited  repu- 
tation as  a  master  mariner  of  great  success, 


'  Capt.  Ambrose  Page  married  Sarah  (Jenckes)  Hopkins,  the 
widow  of  Capt.  Christopher  Hopkins,  who  was  the  son  of  William, 
brother  of  Esek. 


ESEK  //OPA'/XS 


"^I 


skill  and  ability,  and  his  name  was  a  familiar 
one  in  all  the  ports  of  the  maritime  world. 

During  these  years  momentous  questions 
were  ao^itatincj;  the  minds  of  the  American 
Colonists. 

It  was  a  critical  period  in  the  affairs  of 
America,  "  the  third  and  final  period  of  the 
constitutional  revolution,  the  period  which  sep- 
arated the  colonies  from  the  mother  coun- 
try," Already  overt  acts  of  violence  against 
British  authority  had  taken  place  in  Rhode 
Island.  July  19,  1769,  the  revenue  sloop 
"  Liberty  "  had  been  seized  by  a  party  of  New- 
port citizens  and  destroyed.  In  Massachu- 
setts, the  Boston  riots  had  taken  place,  and 
these  conflicts  between  the  populace  and  the 
military  authority  showed  plainly  enough  the 
temper  of  the  colonists,  and  that  "  oppression 
drove  wise  men  mad."  North  Carolinians 
had  nursed  their  grievances  until  patience 
had  become  exhausted,  and,  on  the  i6th  of 
May,  1 77 1,  a  large  number  of  the  people, 
under  the  leadership  of  able  and  distinguished 
men,  became  involved  in  conflict  with  the 
governor  at  the  head  of  a  military  force,  re- 
sulting in  the  death  of  twenty  of  the  citizens 
and  nine  of  the  soldiers  of  the  King's  army. 
Following  this,    the   people  of    Boston    had 


no  ESEK  HOPKINS 

answered  John  Rowes'  significant  query,  as  to 
how  tea  and  salt  water  would  mix,  by  a  prac- 
tical illustration  in  the  waters  of  the  harbor, 
while  the  proceedings  of  the  house  of  Bur- 
gesses, of  Virginia,  had  been  the  subject  of 
argument  and  action  by  Hopkins  himself,  in 
connection  with  his  associates  in  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island. 

And  all  these  acts  were  like  the  low  mut- 
terings  of  the  distant  thunder,  a  warning  of 
a  comino-  storm. 

During  this  period,  too,  had  occurred  that 
daring  attack  made  by  certain  of  the  towns- 
men of  Providence,  on  the  British  armed 
sloop  "'Gaspee.'"  This  exploit  was  instigated 
and  carried  out  by  a  leading  merchant  and 
a  party  of  master  mariners,  aided  by  a 
number  of  daring  young  men.  The  out- 
rages that  had  been  committed  by  the 
''  Gaspee''  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Dud- 
dingston,  had  borne  particularly  hard  upon 
the  vessels  sailing  in  Narragansett  Bay,  as 
he  had  "  made  it  his  practice  to  stop  and 
board  all  vessels  entering  or  leaving  the 
ports  of  Rhode  Island,  or  leaving  Newport 
for  Providence."  So  incensed  had  the  people 
of  Providence  become  at  this  high  handed 
and  unwarranted  action  of  the  British  ofificer. 


ESEK    //O/'A'/.VS  -,-, 

that  the  most  heroic  measures  were  taken 
to  rid  the  bay  of  this  pestiferous  craft,  and 
on  the  night  of  June  9,  1772,  eight  large 
whale  boats,  containing  upwards  of  forty  hold 
and  resolute  men,  rowed  cpiietly  down  the 
bay  to  Namquit  Point,  just  below  the  present 
village  of  Pawtuxet,  where  the  "  Gaspee''  had 
grounded  during  the  day.  The  vessel  was 
boarded  and  set  on  fire,  and  before  daylight 
the  next  morning  burned  to  the  water's  edge. 
During  this  attack  Lieutenant  Duddingston 
was  wounded.  The  audacity  of  the  under- 
taking was  widely  commented  upon  at  the 
time,  and  every  effort  was  made  by  the  Brit- 
ish authorities  to  apprehend  those  connected 
with  it,  but,  notwithstanding  the  large  num- 
ber of  persons  involved,  the  secret  w^as  care- 
fully kept,  and  to  this  day  but  few  of  the 
names  of  those  who  took  part  in  that  summer 
night's  work  are  known.  In  later  years,  when 
all  danger  had  passed,  the  names  of  a  few 
became  public.  The  leaders  in  this  expe- 
dition were  personal  friends  of  Hopkins, 
he  had  commanded  vessels  in  which  John 
Brown,  the  instigator  of  it.  was  interested, 
and  Brown  had  taken  great  interest  in 
Hopkins'  doings  for  many  years.  Abraham 
Whipple,  who  commanded   the  ])artv,  was  a 


^  .  ESEK   HOPKINS 

near  relative';  he  had  sailed  in  the  same  ship 
with  Hopkins  on  many  privateering  ventures, 
and  there  was  between  the  two  a  warm  friend- 
ship, while  Hopkins'  own  son,  John  B.  Hop- 
kins, at  the  time  a  young  man  thirty  years 
of  age,  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  affair. 
This  expedition  was  hurriedly  conceived  and 
carried  out,  there  was  no  time  to  send  mes- 
sengers to  distant  parts  to  secure  recruits, 
and  Hopkins,  at  his  quiet  home  far  away 
from  the  sound  of  the  drum,  which  summoned 
the  party  together,  heard  nothing  of  this 
water  side  proposition,  but  it  is  quite  certain 
that  the  doino^s  of  that  nio-ht,  and  the  names 
of  those  participating,  were  well  known  to 
him  ere  the  last  spark  of  the  smouldering 
hull  of  the  G  a  spec  had  ceased  to  burn. 

The  year  1774  was  a  year  of  preparation, 
and  the  proceedings  of  the  legislative  bodies 
in  the  colonies  were  significant  of  deep  pur- 
poses. There  was  great  interest  exhibited 
in  the  military  force.  This  alone  might  have 
caused  a  suspicion  that  there  was  a  rebellious 
spirit  in  the  minds  of  the  people  if  no  other 
signs  were  apparent,  but  there  was  no  lack  of 


'  Abraliaiii   Wliipple  married  Sarah  Hopkins,  daughter  of  John 
and  Catherine   Hopkins,  Aug.  2,  1761. 


ESKK   IIOPKIXS 

such  signs.  Resistance  to  liritish  authority 
and  oppression  was  on  the  lips  of  every  man. 
Night  after  night  the  taverns  were  thronged 
witli  men  with  determined  looks  on  their 
faces,  treasonable  sentiments  were  the  sub- 
ject of  their  discourse.  Men  were  associating 
themselves  together  and  obtaining  charters 
for  independent  military  companies.  Inflam- 
ing articles  were  being  printed  on  circulars 
or  in  the  columns  of  the  colonial  press,  and 
scattered  throughout  the  land.  "A  recipe 
for  making  gunpowder  was  included  among 
the  useful  information  in  the  household  al- 
manack." The  colonies  of  America  were  the 
abiding  place  of  a  restless,  indignant  and 
excited  people.  Rebellion  was  rampant. 
The  year  closed  and  his  Britannic  Majesty's 
good  subjects  in  America  united  in  the  time 
honored  supplication,  "  God  save  the  King." 


CHAPTER    II 

MILITARY     SERVICES    AND     THE     BEGINNING     OF 
THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 

BEFORE  the  winter's  snows  had  entire!)^ 
disappeared  from  behind  stone  walls  and 
other  sheltered  spots,  the  storm  burst  that 
had  been  brewinor  so  lono-.  In  the  orrev  of 
early  morning,  on  April  19,  1775,  the  yeoman 
soldiery  of  Massachusetts  and  the  King's 
troops  met  in  a  bloody  encounter  in  the  high- 
ways of  Concord  and  Lexington.  Actual 
warfare  had  commenced.  Three  days  later 
the  General  Assembly  of  Rhode  Island  met 
at  Providence;  it  was  the  last  session  previous 
to  the  Mav  session,  when  the  new  Q:overn- 
ment  took  its  seat  for  the  ensuing  year. 

There  is  no  stronger  way  of  showing  the 
temper  of  the  people  at  this  moment  than 
by  the  proceedings  of  this  session.  Every 
measure  considered  was  for  the  defence  of 
the  colony.  Committees  were  appointed  to 
procure  lead,  bullets  and  flints;  the  charters 
of  two  of  the  independent  military  companies 


ESEK   HOPKIXS  -,- 

0/ 

were  amended  and  the  two  orsfanizations 
consolidated.  A  committee  previously  ap- 
pointed to  proportion  the  powder,  lead  and 
flints  among  tlie  several  towns  made  its 
report.  I'hc  clcx'cnth  day  of  May  was  set 
apart  as  a  day  of  prayer,  fasting  and  humilia- 
tion. A  committee  was  appointed  to  wait 
on  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  "  to 
consult  with  them  upon  measures  for  the 
common  defence  of  the  Five  New  England 
Colonies."  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
take  the  care  of  the  cannon,  powder  and  other 
warlike  stores  in  the  magazine,  at  Providence. 
An  army  of  fifteen  hundred  men  was  ordered 
raised  "to  repel  any  insult  or  violence  that 
may  be  offered  to  the  inhabitants  and  also, 
if  it  be  necessary  for  the  safety  and  preserva- 
tion of  any  of  the  Colonies,  to  march  out  of 
the  Colony,  and  join  and  cooperate  with  the 
forces  of  the  neighboring  Colonies." 

The  passage  of  this  resolution  was  not 
without  opposition.  Joseph  Wanton  and 
Darius  Sessions,  (Governor  and  Deinity  Ciov- 
ernor  respectively,  opposed  it,  as  did  also 
Thomas  Wickes  and  William  Potter,  two  of 
the  Assistants.  The  grounds  of  their  oppo- 
sition, as  stated  in  the  protest  which  they  sub- 
sequently filed,  being  "that  such  a  measure 


38 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


will  be  attended  with  the  most  fatal  conse- 
quences to  our  Charter  priviledges;  involve 
the  country  in  all  the  horrors  of  a  civil  war; 
and  as  we  conceive  is  an  open  violation  of 
the  oath  of  allegiance  which  we  have  severally- 
taken,  upon  our  admission  into  the  respective 
offices  we  now  hold  in  the  Colony."  At  the 
spring  election  Wanton  had  been  reelected 
Governor;  he  refused  to  issue  commissions 
to  the  officers  appointed  to  command  the 
troops  to  be  raised;  to  attend  the  General 
Assembly  or  take  the  oath  of  office,  and  even 
neglected  to  issue  the  proclamation  for  the 
observation  of  the  day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
designated  by  the  legislature. 

His  position  at  this  critical  period  was  at 
once  discovered,  and  measures  were  taken 
to  deprive  him  of  all  his  powers.  Every 
authority  was  forbidden  to  administer  to 
him  the  oath  of  office,  and,  that  the  business 
of  the  colony  might  not  be  hampered,  the 
Secretary,  Henry  Ward,  was  authorized  to 
sign  all  commissions  to  officers,  both  civil 
and  military ;  the  Deputy  Governor  was 
clothed  with  certain  powers,  and  the  affairs 
of  Rhode  Island  went  on  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Nicholas  Cooke,  who  had  been  elec- 
ted Deputy  Governor. 


ESF.K   IlorKlXS  -Q 

The  excitement  caused  by  tin's  action  of 
the  Governor  was  soon  followed  by  more 
important  and  alarniino-  cx'cnts;  the  busi- 
ness of  the  government  however  was  soon 
straightened  out,  and  the  ofificers  elected  to 
command  the  army  of  observation,  as  this 
militar)'  body  heretofore  ordered  to  be  raised 
was  called,  received  their  commissions,  duly 
signed  by  Henry  Ward,  in  time  to  assume 
their  positions  and  participate  in  the  fight 
of  Bunker  Hill.  The  result  of  this  engage- 
ment filled  the  people  of  Rhode  Island  with 
alarm,  but  its  effect  throughout  the  colonies 
was  encouraginor  and  significant,  and  Frank- 
lin  wrote,  "  Americans  will  fight,  England 
has  lost  her  Colonies  forever." 

The  alarm  felt  in  Rhode  Island  was  not 
that  of  fear  for  the  success  of  the  cause,  but 
a  fear  that  from  her  exposed  situation,  and 
the  proximity  of  the  enemy,  she  would  be 
surrounded  and  made  helpless  before  any 
effort  could  be  made  at  resistance.  P)riti>h 
ships  of  war  were  cruising  about  in  Narragan- 
sett  bay,  a  formidable  army  was  only  a  day's 
march  to  the  northward.  It  was  tinie  for  im- 
mediate action  for  defence.  Already  the  first 
naval  engagement  of  the  revolution  had 
taken   place.     On   the   fifteenth  of  June  one 


.Q  ESEK  HOPKINS 

of  the  sloops  belonging  to  the  colony,  com- 
manded by  Captain  Abraham  Whipple,  had 
attacked  a  tender  of  the  British  frigate  Rose, 
chased  her  ashore  on  Conanicut  Island  and 
captured  her. 

On  the  28th  of  June,  1775,  the  General 
Assembly  met  in  Providence,  to  which  place 
all  the  records  and  treasure  of  the  colony 
had  been  removed  some  time  before,  from 
Newport,  then  the  seat  of  the  colony  offi- 
ces. 

A  sio-nal  station  was  ordered  established 
at  Tower  Hill,  a  commanding  eminence  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  colony,  and  Job 
Watson  appointed  signal  officer,  to  give  in- 
telligence if  any  '^squadrons  of  ships  should 
be  seen  off."  Beacons  were  also  ordered  set 
up  in  various  parts  of  the  colony,  to  alarm 
the  country  in  the  case  of  the  approach  of 
an  enemy.  On  the  20th  of  July  the  people 
awoke  to  a  stern  realization  of  the  situation 
of  affairs.  James  Wallace,  commanding  the 
British  fleet  in  Rhode  Island,  assembled  his 
ships  in  line  of  battle  before  the  town  of 
Newport,  and  threatened  to  fire  upon  it  un- 
less the  authorities  complied  with  his  re- 
quest for  provisions  for  his  men. 

At   Providence  this  news  was  the  subject 


ESEK   J/OJ'K/.VS  ^j 

of  oTcat  concern,  and,  on  the  31st  of 
Jul\',  the  Providence  town  meeting  was 
convened,  and  I  )e])uty  (iovernor  Cooke  elec- 
ted moderator.  Steps  were  at  once  taken 
to  defend  the  town,  and  fortificatioiis  were 
ordered  erected  on  a  high  hill,  called  Fox 
Hill,  commanding  the  harbor.  The  con- 
struction of  this  work  was  placed  under  the 
control  of  Captain  Nicholas  Power,  and  he 
was  ordered  to  consult  and  advise  with  Cap- 
tain Esek  Hopkins,  Ambrose  Page,  Captain 
John  Updike,  Samuel  Nightingale,  Jr.,  Cap- 
tain William  Earle,  and  Captain  Simon 
Smith,  who  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
reijulate  the  conduct  of  the  batterv  to  be 
established  at  this  point.  Most  of  these 
men  were  sea  captains  who  had  sailed  on 
privateers,  and  were  doubtless  selected  on 
account  of  their  experience  in  the  handling 
of  heavy  guns  on  ship  board.  Esek  Hop- 
kins thus  entered  upon  a  quasi  military 
career  remarkable  as  it  was  brief.  The 
knowledge  of  the  handling  of  great  guns 
was  limited  almost  entirely  to  that  obtained 
on  ship  board  ;  there  was  but  one  fort  in  the 
colony  at  this  time,  located  on  Goat  Island, 
in  Newport  harbor.  This  committee  pre- 
pared a  set  of   rules  or  regulations  for  the 


^2  ESEK  HOPKIXS 

conduct  of  this  fort,  which,  in  itself,  is  a 
strong  defence  of  the  charge  that  they  were 
miHtary  men.  It  was  nearly  a  month  after 
their  appointment  before  they  evolved  these 
regulations  and  submitted  them  for  the  ap- 
proval of  the  town,  before  putting  them  into 
effect;  such  were  the  crude  methods  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Revolution. 

"  Regulations  of  the  Fox  Point  Battery, 
Drawn  by  committee,  Presented  to  the 
Town  in  Town  Meeting  August  29  1775, 

Voted  one  capt  E  Hopkins  be  appointed 
to  commd  the  Battery  at  Fox  Hill. 

Voted  one  luft  that  Samuel  Warner 

Voted  one  gunner  Christopher  Sheldon 

"do  7  men  to  each  gun  Including  offi- 
cers that  such  be  select'd  from  the  town 
Inhabits,  as  are  acq'd  with  the  use  of  Can- 
non and  doe  not  belong  to  Any  of  the  In- 
dependt.  Companys  who  Attending  this 
Duty  be  excused  from  the  Militia  Duties. 

Voted  that  the  Battery  compy  Appt  a 
capt  &  gunner  for  Each  Gun  out  of  their 
compy. 

Voted  that  upon  any  person  quiting  the 
Battery  compy  the  officers  thereunto  Belong- 
ing have  power  to  sellect  others  as  above 
said  to  keep  their  number  complete. 


ESEK   nOPKIXS  .  .  ^ 

Voted  that  two  Persons  be  app'd  to 
Guard  said  Batter\'  on  Day  who  shall  at- 
tend there  on  morninn^  to  Relieve  the  Nioht 
watch  and  Tarry  until  the  lu'cniuL;'  watch  is 
Sett. 

Voted  that  the  Great  Guns  be  No  & 
Each  persons  name  who  belong  to  said 
Guns  be  Wrote  on  a  Card  &  stuck  on  the 
Gun  they  may  belong  to  that  they  may 
know  where  to  repair  in  case  of  an  Alarm — 
Vot'd  that  the  Capt.  Lieut  &  Gunner  of  said 
Battery  have  the  Care  of  preparing  &  keep- 
ing the  Stores  Belonging  Thereto  in  Good 
Order. 

Voted  that  the  Battery  Compy  Exercise 
their  cannon  once  a  month  or  oftener  to 
Perfect  themselves  in  the  use  of  Great  Guns. 

it  is  recommended  that  2  more  18  pound- 
ers be  mounted  at  the   Battery  at   Fox    Ilill. 

William   Earle 

Simon  Smith 

John   Updike  Co  ;;/  m  it  tec. 

EsEK   Hopkins 

Ambrose   Page 

Same  Nightingale  Jr." 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  conduct  of  j3ub- 
lic    business     durine     the    time     when     the 


.  .  ESEK  HOPKINS 

General  Assembly  was  not  in  session,  a 
committee  had  been  appointed,  called  the 
Recess  Committee,  to  act  during  the  interim 
with  full  power  in  the  premises.  The  situa- 
tion at  Newport,  and  indeed  throughout  the 
southern  portion  of  the  colony,  demanded 
that  a  competent  oiificer  backed  by  a  military 
force  be  located  there,  to  protect  the  people 
from  the  outrages  being  carried  on.  This 
committee,  therefore,  selected  Esek  Hop- 
kins for  the  position,  and  he  was  duly  com- 
missioned Commander-in-Chief,  with  the 
rank  of  Brigadier-General. 

The  commission  issued  to  Hopkins  and 
to  William  West,  his  able  lieutenant,  is  yet 
preserved.  It  is  signed  by  Nicholas  Cooke, 
Deputy  Governor,  countersigned  by  Henry 
\\\ird.  Secretary,  and  dated  October  4,  1775. 
He  was  not  appointed  to  this  position  by  his 
brother,  formerly  the  Governor,  as  has  been 
stated.'  His  peculiar  fitness  for  the  respon- 
sibilities involved  was  the  only  consideration. 
The  position  needed  a  man  of  judgment  and 
fidelity,  and  such  a  man  was  Esek   Hopkins. 

The  position  to  which  Hopkins  was  thus 
assigned  was  one  requiring  the  greatest  tact 

'  Spears  Historj'  of  our  Navy,  Vol.  I. 


COM.MOUORK    HOl'klXS, 

COMMANDEK-IN-CHIEF   OK   THE    AMERICAN    FLEET. 

Published  as  ifie  act  directs,  22  A  iij;.,  1776,  by  T/ios.  Hurt.     From  a  f-hotogra/-li  o/tht  original. 
Portrait  Plate  i. 


ESKK   HOPKINS  ,  - 

and  the  exx-rcisc  of  a  wise  discretion.  The 
British  commander,  Wallace,  backed  bv  a 
formidable  fleet,  well  manned,  and  well 
armed,  was  lying  before  the  town.  He  was 
in  a  position  to  distress  the  inhabitants  with 
little  or  no  activity,  and  to  destroy  the  town 
itself  with  comparative  ease. 

He  demanded  provisions  for  his  fleet, 
which  the  town  had  been  prohibited  by  the 
colonial  authorities  from  furnishing.  New- 
port was  in  a  desperate  situation. 

To  this  condition  General  Hopkins  first 
addressed  himself;  with  a  force  of  aljout  six 
hundred  men  he  established  quarters  in  the 
town  of  Middletown,  adjoining  Newport, 
and  immediately  undertook  to  straighten  out 
the  troublesome  affair.  Upon  the  refusal  of 
the  town  authorities  of  Newport  to  furnish 
the  supplies  demanded,  Wallace  had  closed 
the  port.  All  ferry  boats,  market  boats, 
fish  and  wood  boats,  were  prevented  from 
coming  to  the  town.  Provisions,  wood  and 
other  supplies  were  thus  cut  off,  and  the 
town  was  "exposed  to  all  those  dreadful 
consequences  which  must  inevitably  arise 
through  the  want  of  the  common  necessaries 
of  life."  So  desperate  had  the  position 
become  that  the  town   coimcil   of   Newport, 


46 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


after  seriously  considering  the  whole  matter, 
prepared  a  memorial  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, in  which  they  prayed  for  some  relief. 
The  safety  of  the  town  demanded  that  some 
concessions  be  made,  and  upon  the  promise 
that  Wallace  would  raise  the  blockade, 
negotiations  were  permitted,  and  General 
Hopkins  was  directed  to  regulate  the  sup- 
plying of  the  ships  with  provisions.  Addi- 
tional instructions  were  also  forwarded  to 
him  at  this  time,  and  there  is  a  firmness  and 
determination  in  these  directions  more  sig- 
nificant than  would  first  appear,  for  it  was 
ordered  that  he,  "  from  time  to  time,  re- 
move the  troops  under  his  command  from 
place  to  place  as  he  should  think  may  best 
tend  to  the  general  safety,  and  the  peace 
and  happiness  of  the  town  of  Newport ;  pay- 
ing the  orreatest  attention  to,  and  havino^  the 
tenderest  concern  for,  the  true  and  lasting 
peace,  support,  and  relief  thereof,  still  having 
an  eye  and  just  preference  to  the  general 
safety,  and  the  common  cause  of  America." 
A  consultation  was  held  between  the  town 
authorities  and  the  British  commander,  and 
a  plan  discussed  for  some  concessions.  Both 
sides  faced  the  situation  squarely,  and  Wal- 
lace declared  a  truce,  under  the  conditions 


ESEK   HOI'KIXS  .- 

specified  in   the  following  letter,  sent   to  the 
town  council  of  Newport : 

"  I  will  suspend  hostilities  against  the 
town  till  I  have  further  orders,  upon  their 
su])j)lying  the  King's  shi])s  with  fresh  beef, 
&c.  Let  it  remain  neuter.  The  ferry  and 
market  boats  to  supply  it  unmolested.  If 
the  rebels  enter  the  town,  and  break  the 
neutralit)',  1  hold  myself  disengaged,  and  at 
liberty  to  do  my  utmost  for  the  King's  ser- 
vice. 

James  Wallace. 

His  Majesty's  shij),  RoscT 

There  is  no  date  to  this  letter,  it  was  pub- 
lished, however,  in  the  Providence  Gazette, 
on  December  9,  1775,  in  connection  with 
other  correspondence  regarding  the  troubles 
at  New^port ;  it  was  wTitten  however  previous  to 
November  i  5,  for  it  is  referred  to  in  a  letter  of 
Hopkins'  of  that  date.  Thus,  nearly  eight 
months  before  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, the  condition  of  war  between  Kng- 
land  and  the  forces  of  the  colony  of  Rhode 
Island  had  been  recognized  by  James  Wal- 
lace, comniander  of  the  Ih'iti.-^h  fleet  in 
Rhode  Island.  lie  admits  hostilities  and 
rebellion,     declares     the     people    of     Rhode 


48 


ESEK  HOPKIiVS 


Island  rebels,  arranges  under  a  truce  a  neu- 
trality, and  accords  belligerent  rights  to  the 
"  rebels."  Such  a  condition  did  not  exist 
between  the  two  opposing  forces  around 
Boston,  but  on  the  fifteenth  clay  of  Novem- 
ber, 1775,  Esek  Hopkins,  commanding  a 
mere  handful  of  soldiers,  of  the  Rhode 
Island  militia,  was  arrayed  against  Great 
Britain  in  open  warfare. 

By  the  terms  of  this  truce,  General  Hop- 
kins was  prohibited  from  entering  the  town 
with  his  troops,  Newport  was  to  supply  the 
fleet  with  provisions;  in  consideration  of 
which  the  sources  of  her  supplies  were  to 
remain  unmolested.  In  the  arrano-ements 
for  the  carrying  out  of  the  town's  part  of  the 
neutrality,  Hopkins  had  the  entire  manage- 
ment and  direction.  He  appointed  Samuel 
Dyer,  Esq.,  of  Newport,  to  superintend  the 
delivery  of  the  provisions. 

In  conducting  these  negotiations  Hopkins 
showed  himself  to  be  possessed  of  sagacity, 
quiet  firmness  and  discretion  ;  in  character 
very  different  from  the  irascible,  irresponsi- 
ble man,  whom  his  enemies  later  represen- 
ted him  as  being. 

Without  coming  to  an  actual  conflict  of 
arms  (which   might  have    j^roved   disastrous 


/■:s/:a-  //()/' a'/.vs  ,g 

to  the  l\l"i()cl(j  I'sland  forces),  lie  did  succeed 
ill  hriiio-ino-  about  a  condition  of  affairs  in 
whicli  the  Ih-itish  coniinander  tacitlx'  recoi^- 
ni/ed  hiin  as  the  chd\'  eoinini^sioned  com- 
mander of  an  army  raised  by  the  legislature 
of  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island,  as  constitu- 
tional a  body  as  the  Parliament  of  Great 
i)ritian.  and  one  recognized  for  over  a  cen- 
tury by  British  authorities  as  such,  by  sub- 
mitting to  the  orders  and  directions  of  Sam- 
uel Dyer,  Hopkins'  duly  authorized  agent. 

The  contentions  between  Wallace  and 
the  town  authorities  of  Newport,  regarding 
supplies  for  the  ministerial  fleet,  were  pro- 
longed through  the  entire  time  that  Hop- 
kins was  in  command  of  this  station.  The 
correspondence  passing  between  Hopkins 
and  the  town  of  Newport  discloses  a  deter- 
mination on  the  part  of  the  General  to 
conciliate  the  differences,  yet  to  manage 
the  affairs  firmly,  avoiding  if  possible  ex- 
treme measures.  From  his  "  Headtjuarters, 
Nov  15  1775"  he  writes  to  the  town  of 
Newport. 

"  Gentlemen 

I  received  a  copy  of  a  letter, 
signed  by  James  Wallace,  Commander  of 
his  Majesty's  ship  /^osc\  together  with  your 


CQ  ESEK   IIOl'KJXS 

approbations  of  the  contents;  In  answer  to 
which  I  am  to  let  you  know,  that  I  will 
permit  you  to  supply  the  ministerial  navy 
now  in  your  harbor,  with  fresh  provisions, 
&c.  provided  the  quantity  be  ascertained, 
and  is  no  more  than  is  sufficient,  or  has 
been  heretofore  made  use  of,  and  that  under 
the  inspection  of  a  man  that  I  shall  appoint 
and  authorize,  and  not  otherwise,  provided 
that  he,  said  Wallace,  with  all  the  vessels 
and  boats  under  his  command  and  direction, 
let  all  the  wood,  market,  and  ferry  boats  pass 
&,  repass  together  with  their  passengers  and 
effects  unmolested  and  unexamined,  on  fail- 
ure or  breach  of  which  I  shall  immediately 
stop  the  supplies.  This  is  all  that  can  be 
expected  in  supplying  the  ministerial  navy, 
except  they  remove  out  of  cannon  shot  of 
the  town  of  Newport. 

1  am,  gentlemen,  your  humble  servant 
EsEK   Hopkins,  Brigadier  General." 

These  conditions  the  town  desired  mod- 
ified, and  the  next  day  sent  to  him  the 
followino; : 

"Newport,  Nov  i6,  1775. 

Sir 

Your  proposal  for  settling   a   truce 
between    the    town  of    Newport    and    Capt. 


ESEk'   //O/'A'/.VS 


51 


Wallace  we  have  received  and  examined, 
and  as  the  word  unexamined  in  your  pro- 
posal seemes  to  us  will  not  be  complied  with 
by  Capt.  Wallace,  request  you  will  leave 
the  same  out,  as  we  apprehend  it  coiitrary 
to  his  instructions  and  the  acts  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  are  fearful  it  will  greatly  impede 
the  wished  for  truce.  I  am,  in  behalf  of  the 
Town  Council  of  Newport,  Sir,  3'our  very 
humble  servant, 

William   Coddington   Council   Cltrk. 
To    Esek    Hopkins,    Esq.,    Brigadier    Gen- 
eral of  the  forces  in  this  Colony." 

To  this  proposition    Hopkins    reluctantly 
consented  in  the  followiiig  brief  reply: 

"Head  Quarters   Nov.  16,  1775 
To   the   Worshipful    Town    Council   of  the 

town  of  Newport. 

Gentlemen 

I   received   \ours  this  day, 

wherein  your  request  the  word  unexamined 

may   be    left    out    of    my   proposal,    which    I 

now    give    you    leave    to   do;     but   think    it 

would   be   more   for   your   interest   to   let   it 

remain. 

I  am,  oentlemen,  vour  humble  servant 

Esek   Hopkins   Brigadier  General." 


-2  ESEK   nor  KINS 

Negotiations  were  finally  concluded  and 
a  more  peaceful  result  attained  than  had 
been  anticipated.  In  view  of  the  threaten- 
ing aspect,  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  New- 
port left  the  Island,  taking  all  their  property 
with  them,  and,  it  is  said,  "  For  four  days 
the  streets  were  almost  blocked  with  carts 
and  carriages  of  every  sort  seeking  a  place 
of  safety." 

From  that  day  Newport,  as  a  commercial 
center,  began  to  wane.  Previous  to  the 
Revolution  the  trade  of  Newport  was 
o;reater  than  that  of  New  York.  Durin<''  the 
three  months  ending  the  loth  of  October, 
1769,  3,000  hogsheads  of  molasses  were 
entered  at  the  Custom  House,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  quantity  that  was  "  run  in,"  as 
smuggling  was  sometimes  delicately  called. 

It  is  doubtful  if  Wallace  ever  intended  to 
fire  upon  the  town.  It  was  of  too  much 
importance  as  a  rendezvous  and  military 
station  to  be  destroyed,  and,  indeed,  for 
more  than  three  years  was  occupied  by  the 
British  as  such.  In  addition  to  the  powers 
conferred  upon  Hopkins  as  commander  of 
the  military  force,  he  was  specially  directed, 
in  the  commission  issued  to  him,  to  appre- 
hend George  Rome,  a  merchant  of  Newport, 


ESEK   HOPKINS  r^ 

he  having  "greatly  assisted   the    l^nemv  and 
proved   himself  entirely  inimical  to  the  Lib- 
erties of   America."      No  part  of  the  colony 
sheltered  more  of  the   Tories  and   Royalists 
than    Newport.      Many  of   the   most  wealthy 
and    influential    men    in    the    town   were    in- 
cluded amonor  them  ;  of  these  Geors:e  Rome 
was  the  most  prominent   and    bitter  against 
the  independent  movement  in   the  colonies. 
George    Rome,    "  a    gentleman    of    estate 
from  Old  England,"  was  a  wealthy  merchant 
of  Newport,  where  he   resided   winters.      He 
WMS    the    (nvner   of    a    fine    estate    in    North 
Kingstown,  R.  I.,  with  an   elegant  mansion- 
house   which   he  occupied    during  the   sum- 
mer.     This  residence  he  called    Batchelors 
Hall,  "my  little  country   villa."      The  house 
and    the   grounds   around   it   were   the   most 
elaborate     of    any    in    the     colony.        Here, 
surrounded   by  a  large  circle   of   friends,  he 
entertained   in  a  sumptuous    manner.      Invi- 
tations to  partake  of  his  hospitalit)'  indicate 
somewhat  the   nature  of   the    entertainment 
provided,  for,  writing  to  one  of  his  friends, 
he     says:     "My    compliments     to     Colonel 
Stewart:    may  I   ask   the  favor  of  you   both 
to   come   and   eat    a   Christmas    dinner   with 
me    at    Batchelors    Hall,    and    celebrate    the 


-  ,  ESEK  HOPKINS 

festivities  of  the  season  with  me  in  Narra- 
gansett  woods?  A  covey  of  partridges  or 
bevy  of  quails  will  be  entertainment  for  the 
Colonel  and  me,  while  the  pike  and  pearch 
pond  amuse  you."  In  the  Stamp  Act  ex- 
citement he  upheld  the  crovvn,  and  much 
bitterness  was  aroused  against  him.  In 
1773,  Dr.  Franklin,  while  in  London,  ob- 
tained a  letter  of  Rome's  which  he  trans- 
mitted to  this  country.  A  copy  of  it  was 
forwarded  to  Rhode  Island,  and  Rome  was 
called  to  account  for  the  scandalous  asper- 
sion contained  in  it. 

This  letter  was  devoted  to  a  general  abuse 
of  the  government,  in  which  he  attacked  the 
legislature,  the  courts  and  juries  of  the 
colony,  advised  that  the  charter  be  annulled 
and  a  government  more  dependent  on  the 
crown  be  created.  He  asserted  that  "the 
colonies  have  originally  been  wrong  found- 
ed. They  ought  to  have  been  regal  govern- 
ments, and  every  executive  officer  approved 
by  the  King.  Until  that  is  affected,  and 
they  are  properly  regulated  they  will  never 
be  beneficial  to  themselves  nor  good  sub- 
jects of  Great  Britain.  '  This  letter  was 
written  from  his  Narragansett  home,  on 
December    22,    1767.      When    this   attitude 


ESEK    HOPKINS  ,- - 

of  Rome's  became  known  it  produced  much 
excitement  in  the  colony.  Resolutions  con- 
demnini;  his  actions  were  passed  in  open 
town  meetinij  in  several  of  the  towns,  and 
at  the  October  session  of  the  (General 
Assembly,  in  1774,  he  was  brought  before 
that  body  on  a  warrant  to  answer  for  his 
aspersions  on  the  government.  His  an- 
swers, w4ien  questioned,  were  insulting  and 
evasive,  and  he  was  adjudged  in  contempt 
and  ordered  committed  to  the  common  jail 
in  South  Kingstown  until  the  close  of  the 
session.  Here  he  remained  for  some  time, 
and  upon  his  release,  in  fear  of  bodily  harm, 
for  the  most  intense  feeling  had  been  aroused 
against  him,  he  fled  on  board  the  British 
frigate  "  AV5<f,"  then  lvin<>'  in  the  bav.  Hi> 
estates  were  confiscated,  together  wnth  those 
of  others  of  his  stripe.  The  order  for  his 
apprehension,  given  to  Hopkins,  was  sub- 
sequent to  this,  and  it  is  supposed  that  he 
afterwards  returned  to  Newport  and  contin- 
ued his  seditious  practices  What  eventu- 
ally became  of  him  is  not  stated. 

But  Hopkins  did  not  disregard  others  in 
Newport  who  were  inimical  to  the  cause  of 
liberty.  He  acted  on  the  spirit  of  his  com- 
mission   if    not    bv    direct    order,    and    took 


56 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


possession,  in  behalf  of  the  colony,  of  the 
estates  of  Benjamin  Brenton,  the  heirs  of 
Andrew  Oliver,  deceased,  Jahleel  Brenton, 
and  Thomas  Hutchinson,  as  well  as  the 
estate  of  Rome,  and  reported  his  action  to 
the  Governor.  These  estates  were  declared 
confiscated  and  placed  under  the  control  of 
persons  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly 
to  manage,  and  the  action  of  Hopkins  ap- 
proved by  that  body;  it  even  went  farther 
and  declared  that  all  deeds  executed  since 
the  fifth  of  October,  1775,  by  certain  other 
persons  of  Tory  proclivities,  be  null  and 
void.  A  year  later  the  property  thus  con- 
fiscated, belonging  to  George  Rome,  was 
sold  at  public  vendue  to  the  highest  bidder, 
and  thus,  says  Updike,  "  the  great  estates  of 
Mr.  Rome  were  lost  to  his  family  forever." 

The  duties  devolving  upon  Hopkins  while 
in  command  of  this  military  post  were  varied 
and  perplexing,  requiring  the  exercise  of 
oreat  iudsment  and  a  wise  discretion. 

O  JO 

The  situation  of  affairs  was  most  delicate, 
and  any  misstep  would  have  brought  about 
a  conflict  between  the  King's  forces,  under 
Wallace,  and  the  colony  troops.  During 
his  command  on  Rhode  Island  a  sloop,  with 
her  cargo,  arrived  in  the  Seaconnet  river  on 


ESEK  HOPKINS  -7 

the  east  side  of  the  island  of  Rhode  Island, 
in  charge  of  Captain  Isaac  Eslick,  of  l)ristol, 
R.  I.,  and  l)y  him  was  turned  over  lo  the 
care  of  Hopkins.  The  arrival  of  this  vessel 
disclosed  a  s])irit  of  adx'enture  and  (hwing 
which  characterized  the  ship  masters  of  the 
times. 

Captain  Eslick,  in  command  of  a  small 
trading  sloop,  had  been  captured  at  sea  by 
one  of  the  English  war  vessels  cruising  off 
the  coast.  A  prize  master  and  crew  had 
been  put  aboard  and  ordered  to  take  her 
into  Boston,  while  Eslick  had  been  detained 
aboard  the  British  sloop  of  war,"  Viper''  Not 
long  after  this  the  British  sloop  sighted  and 
overhauled  the  sloop  ''Polly''  belonging  to 
New  York,  commanded  by  Captain  Samuel 
Barnes,  and  bound  thence  for  Antigua.  A 
midshipman,  as  prize  master,  and  several 
hands,  were  put  on  board,  with  orders  to 
proceed  with  the  vessel  to  Boston.  Eslick 
was  also  transferred  to  the  sloop  to  act  as 
pilot,  encouraged  with  the  promise  that  if  he 
successfully  and  faithfull)-  piloted  her  into 
Boston  harbor  he  should  be  rewarded  with 
having  his  own  boat  with  her  cargo  restored 
to  him.  Eslick  soon  established  friendly 
relations  with  two  of  the  orioinal  crew  of  the 


58 


ESEK  IIOPKIXS 


sloop,  and  together  they  determined  to  out- 
wit the  prize  master  and  carry  the  sloop  into 
Rhode  Island.  It  was  a  most  daring  project, 
and  one  having  little  promise  of  success. 
Wallace's  ships  were  cruising  about  the 
lower  part  of  Narragansett  Bay,  and  even 
extending  their  cruises,  on  occasions,  into 
Long  Island  Sound,  so  that  the  chances  of 
successfully  running  this  blockade  were  well- 
nigh  impossible.  Nevertheless,  Eslick  laid 
his  course,  and  with  the  assistance  of  his 
two  accomplices  the  vessel  was  successfully 
brought  into  the  Seaconnet  river  and  turned 
over  to  Hopkins.  B)'  this  exploit  Eslick 
lost  all  chance  of  redeeming  his  owni  prop- 
erty, which  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  but  at  the  risk  of  his  life  and  the 
sacrifice  of  his  own  vessel  and  cargo  he  had 
saved  valuable  property  belonging  to  others. 
The  circumstances  of  his  action  were  com- 
municated to  the  colonv  authorities,  and 
the  General  Assembly  soon  after  ordered 
two  hundred  and  fiftv  dollars  paid  to  Eslick 
and  fifty  dollars  each  to  his  two  asso- 
ciates in  the  business.  The  payment  of  this 
amount  was  made  a  lien  upon  the  sloop  and 
her  cargo,  and  Hopkins  was  directed  to  hold 
the    vessel    until   these    amounts    were  paid, 


ESEK  JI  OP  KINS  rQ 

wliicli  was  promptly  done,  the  owners,  doubt- 
le.ss,  being  well  pleased  to  escape  so  easily 
from  what  otherwise  would  have  been  a 
total  loss.  The  troubles  which  had  con- 
tinued between  the  colony  officers  and  the 
duly  elected  executive.  Governor  Wanton, 
were  now  brought  to  a  close,  the  General 
Assembly  passing  an  act  declaring  the  office 
of  governor  vacant,  and  I  l()})kins,  with 
Captain  Joseph  Anthony  and  Mr.  Paul 
Mumford.  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
receive  from  the  deposed  governor  the 
charter  and  other  state  papers  in  his  hands. 
The  duties  devolving  upon  General  Hopkins 
were  now  beconiing  so  arduous  that  he  was 
authorized  to  appoint  a  secretary ;  a  com- 
missary and  a  sutler  were  also  ordered 
attached  to  the  brigade  under  his  commanrl. 
Early  in  October,  Wallace,  having  harrassed 
Newport  and  the  farmers  along  the  southern 
bay  side,  moved  his  fleet  northward  to  the 
harbor  of  Bristol,  where,  on  the  7th  of  Oct- 
ober, 1775,  he  assumed  a  threatening  atti- 
tude and  proceeded  to  make  the  same 
demands  for  provisions.  In  order  to  give 
his  demand  a  show  of  determination  he  fired 
a  few  shots  into  the  town,  without  doing 
any    damage    save    producing    the    greatest 


^O  ESEK   HOPKINS 

excitement  and  fear  amono-  the  inhabitants. 
The  town  authorities  wisely  complied  with 
his  demands  and  furnished  him  forty  sheep, 
and  the  fleet  withdrew  after  landing  a  small 
force  and  plundering  neighboring  farms. 
All  of  the  towns  on  the  sea-coast  were  open 
to  such  attacks,  and,  had  Wallace  desired, 
he  might  have  sailed  even  to  Providence 
and  enforced  similar  demands.  In  view  of 
the  unprotected  situation  of  the  colony 
Hopkins  was  recalled  to  Providence,  and, 
with  Joseph  Brown,  dispatched  on  a  tour  of 
inspection  to  ascertain  what  places  should 
be  fortified  and  in  what  manner.  Colonel 
William  West  was  left  in  command  of  the 
troops.  The  result  of  this  committee's  labor 
was  a  series  of  fortifications  extendino-  alono- 
the  bay  side  at  all  exposed  points,  the  mili- 
tary force  of  the  colony  was  largely  in- 
creased, and  garrisons  established  composed 
of  the  companies  in  the  respective  towns 
where  these  works  were  located.'  Cannon 
were  shipped  to  the  Island,  and  a  number  of 
1 8-pound  guns  in  the  fort  already  con- 
structed at  Providence  were  put  on  carriages 
for  field  artillery. 

'  See  my  "  Revolutionary  Defences  in  Rhode  Island." 


ESEK   IIOl'KIXS  ^j 

Tlie  nax'al  force  of  the  colony  was  auo-- 
iiK'ntcd  and  all  jMvcautionary  methods  oi 
defence  provided  that  were  deemed  neces- 
sary. Thus  matters  went  on  until  Hopkins 
received  his  appointment  from  Congress  as 
Commander  of  the  Continental  Navy;  his 
services  as  a  military  commander  covcrim^  a 
period  of  two  months  and  eighteen  days. 
During  this  time  his  services  had  ])een 
entirely  administrative,  the  troops  under  his 
command  had  never  been  brought  into 
action,  and,  so  far  as  there  is  any  evidence, 
not  a  charge  of  powder  had  been  burned. 
This  hardly  justifies  the  assertion,  made  bv  a 
recent  historical  writer,  that  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  Hopkins  to  the  position  of  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  Continental  fleet 
Congress  erred  in  appointing  a  soldier  rather 
than  a  sailor.  Surely  a  service  of  thirty 
years  and  more  on  the  sea,  most  of  the  time 
as  master  of  a  vessel,  would  seem  to  entitle 
a  man  to  a  greater  proficiency  as  a  master 
mariner  than  three  months'  service  would 
entitle  him  to  be  classed  as  a  militar\-  com- 
mander. 

Hopkins  was  a  man  of  manv  capabili- 
ties ;  as  a  politician  he  seems  to  have  been 
wise,    active   and   aggressive ;    as   a   military 


^2  ESEK  HOPKINS 

commander  firm,  careful  and  discreet.  In 
his  subsequent  career,  when  he  entered  upon 
broader  fields  of  service  than  those  afforded 
in  his  own  native  colony,  he  became  the 
subject  of  criticism  and  abuse,  but  above  it 
all  his  noble  character,  high  integrity,  and 
pure  patriotism  show  out  distinct  and  clear. 


CHAPTER    HI 

THE     ORIGIN     OF    A     NAVY     AND     THE      AIT'OINT- 
MENT    OF    A    COMMANDER-IN-CIHEF. 

TO  a  maritime  colony  like  Rhode  Island, 
the  importance  of  having  a  na\'al  con- 
tino^ent  was  recognized  at  the  beo'innine  of 
the  trouble  with  the  mother  country.  As 
early  as  June,  1775,  when  the  General  As- 
sembly had  ordered  an  army  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred men  raised  for  the  defence  of  the 
colony,  provision  had  also  been  made  for 
the  fitting  out  of  two  suitable  vessels  "  to 
protect  the  trade"  of  the  colony. 

The  largest  of  these  vessels  was  manned 
with  a  crew  of  eighty  men  exclusive  of  ofii- 
cers,  and  equipped  with  ten  four-pounders 
and  fourteen  swivel  guns,  and  named  the 
"  WasJiiugfoiiy  The  snialler  vessel  was 
•called  the  '' Katy''  and  manned  with  a  crew 
of  thirty  men. 

Abraham  Whipj^le,  who  had  seen  service  in 
the  old  French  War,  the  commander  of  the 
*' Gaspee''    expedition,    and    who    afterwards 


64 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


held  important  commissions  in  the  Conti- 
nental Navy,  was  appointed  commander  of 
the  larger  vessel,  and  commodore  of  the 
little  fleet  which,  besides  these  two  ves- 
sels, consisted  of  two  row  galleys  of  fifteen 
oars  to  a  side,  mountino-  each  an  eio-hteen- 
pounder  in  the  bow  and  carrying  a  number 
of  swivel  guns.  Each  galley  was  fitted  to 
accommodate  a  crew  of  sixty  men.  Hardly 
had  this  fleet  been  put  in  commission,  in 
fact  before  the  row  galleys  had  been  fully 
constructed,  when  the  commodore's  ship 
and  a  tender  to  the  frigate  ''Rose''  of  Wal- 
lace's fleet,  met  in  conflict,  and  in  the  en- 
gagement which  followed,  Abraham  Whipple 
had  the  honor  of  discharging  the  first  gun 
upon  the  ocean,  at  any  part  of  his  Majesty's 
Navy  in  the  American  Revolution. 

Some  time  previous  to  the  fourteenth  of 
June  the  British  commander  had  captured 
two  packets  belonging  to  some  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  Providence;  one  of  these  Wallace 
had  fitted  up  as  a  tender,  which  was  being 
used  to  intercept  the  coasting  trade  and 
annoy  all  craft  sailing  on  the  bay. 

This  being  brought  to  the  attention  of 
Deputy  (jovernor  Cooke,  for  the  colony  was 
without  a  "overnor  at  this  time,  on  account 


ESEK  nOPKJXS 


65 


of  the  Wanton  episode,  he  dispatched  a 
spirited  letter  to  Wallace  on  the  14th  in 
\vhicli  lie  demanded  the  reasons  for  his  action 
in  stopping  vessels  and  generally  annoying 
the  inhabitants.  He  also  demanded  the  re- 
turn of  the  packets  thus  seized.  Wallace 
was  always  brief  and  to  the  point  in  his 
official  correspondence,  and  on  the  fifteenth 
he  sent  the  following  answer: 

"  His  Majesty's  Ship  Rose 
Rhode  Island  June  15  1775, 

Sir:  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the 
14th  inst  although  I  am  unacquainted  with 
you  or  what  station  you  act  in,  suppose  you 
write  in  behalf  of  some  body  of  people ; 
therefore  previous  to  my  giving  an  answer 
1  must  desire  to  know  wJicther  or  }iol  you 
or  the  people  on  whose  behalf  you  write, 
are  not  in  open  rebellion  to  your  lawfull 
sovereign  and  the  acts  of  the  British  legis- 
lature 

I  am  sir  your  most  humble  and  obedient 
servant 

Jas.  Wallace 
To  Nicholas  Cook  Esq." 

Before  the  ink  with  which  this  letter  was 
written    had   fully   dried,  one  of  these  very 


66 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


packets  that  the  Deputy  Governor  had 
demanded  restored,  and  which  had  been 
fitted  as  a  tender,  was  chased  ashore  on 
Conanicut  Island  in  Narragansett  Bay  and 
destroyed.  The  details  of  this  first  engage- 
ment on  the  sea  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  colonies  are  obtained  entirely  from 
British  authority,  and  are  thus  described  by 
the  commander  of  the  tender.  Master  Sav- 
age Gardner,  in  his  log  yet  preserved  in  the 
British  archives.  "About  6  o'clock  as  our 
tender  was  standing  off  and  on  between 
Gold  Island  and  the  North  Point  of  Conan- 
icut Island  they  saw  a  sloop  standing  down 
the  river.  Our  tender  hove  too  to  speak 
her.  She  hailed  the  tender  and  told  them 
to  bring  too  directly  or  he  would  sink  them 
directly.  Fired  a  shot  which  the  tender 
returned  and  kept  a  smart  fire  on  both  sides 
for  about  half  an  hour  when  another  sloop 
ioinino-  and  brinLfins:  our  tender  between 
the  fires  that  they  had  no  opportunity  of 
getting  off,  tho'  made  two  or  three  tacks 
right  off.  By  accident  the  Swivel  cartrages 
blowing  up  and  the  musquet  cartridges  near 
expended,  Thought  most  prudent  to  run  the 
Tender  on  shore  to  save  the  men  which  was 
accomplished  near  the  N.   P.  of  Conanicut 


ESEK   IIOI'KIXS 


67 


Island.  Only  a  petty  officer  and  one  man 
wounded  by  the  powder  blowing  up,  Tho' 
constant  fire  on  them  at  their  landing. 
Night  coming  on  they  being  closely  pur- 
sued separated  and  got  safe  on  board  the 
ship  by  noon  next  day. 

Gunners  stores  lost  in  the  sloop,  viz. 
Bright  musquets  11,  Marines  ditto  7,  Cut- 
lasses with  scabbords  1 7,  Bayonettes  with 
scabbords  9,  Alarines  ditto  7,  Ships  pistols 
12,  cartouch  Boxes,  with  Belts  and  straps 
12,  Swivels  4,  Aprons  of  lead  4,  Swivel 
irons  and  saddle  one  each,  Pikes  8,  Cases 
of  wood  2,  Musquet  cartridge  box  2,  Powder- 
horns  3,  priming  irons  6,  Powder  in  Swivel 
cartridges  50  Pounds  cartridges,  9  Pounders 
2  do,  \  Pounders  40  Round  Shot,  Do  40 
Grape  40,  Musquetshot  1 5  pounds.  Pistol 
Shot  9  Pound. 

Boatswains  Stores  viz.  Rope  2inch  30 
fem.,  12  inch  50  fern.  Blocks  of  2  inch 
double  2,  larger  of  8  inch  3,  thimbles  12, 
Marline  spikes  2.  i  P^oremast  steering  sail 
and  a  mizr.  F.  J.  G.  Sail  i  Hatchett,  2 
Loo^grhnes  and  15  Mammocks. 

Carpenters  stores  viz.  i  driveryard,  1 
fore  J.  Mast  steering  Sailyard.  i    Tarperline. 

Pursers  stores  viz.     i   Puncheon,  i  Barrel." 


53  ESEK  HOPKINS 

This  exploit  of  Whipple's,  together  with 
the  knowledge  that  he  had  been  instru- 
mental in  the  destruction  of  the  "  GaspceT 
greatly  exasperated  Wallace,  and  he  ad- 
dressed him  the  following  succinct  and 
highly  expressive  letter : 

"Sir:  You  Abraham  Whipple,  on  the 
loth  June  1772  burned  his  Majestys  vessel 
the  Gaspce  and  I  will  hang  you  at  the  yard 
arm. 

James  Wallace." 

To  which  Whipple  briefly  replied  : 

"  Sir  James  W^allace  Sir  Always  catch  a 
man  before  you  hang  him 

Abraham  Whipple." 

This  little  squadron  was  kept  busily  en- 
gaged in  patrolling  the  waters  of  the  bay, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  threatened  attack 
on  Newport  was  ordered  to  cooperate 
with  the  militia  under  Hopkins.  While 
thus  engaged  a  request  was  received  from 
the  Continental  Congress  to  Governor 
Cooke  that  the  Rhode  Island  fleet  be  dis- 
patched to  intercept  two  ships,  which,  it  was 
learned,  were  bound  to  Canada  with  military 
stores,  but  the  larger  ship  being  then  on  a 


Al'.KAHA.M    WIIII'PLK. 

CAl'TAIN    cit'      rJIE    "  COLU.MISUS,"    FORMERLY    OF    THE    *' KATV,"      AND   COMMODORE    OF    THE     RHODK^ 

ISLAND    NAVV. 


From  a  water  color  hi  the  possession  of  the  Khotte  /slaitif  Historical  Soeiety. 


ESEA'   J/O/'A'/.YS 


69 


voyage  to  Bermuda,  and  the  situation  in 
Rhode  Island  remaining  unchanged,  it  was 
•deemed  unadvisable  to  send  the  smaller 
vessel  on  this  expedition. 

On  Monday,  the  21st  day  of  August,  i  775, 
the  General  Assembly  of  Rhode  Island  con- 
vened at  Providence.  At  this  session  the 
first  suggestion  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Continental  fleet  was  made,  and  from  this 
suggestion  the  American  Navy  owes  its 
origin.  It  was  embodied  in  a  resolution  of 
instructions  to  the  Rhode  Island  delegates 
to  the  Continental  Congress,  passed  on 
August  26,  for  them  to  present  to  that  body, 
that  the  sentiments  of  the  colony  might  be 
plainly  set  before  it.  This  resolution,  with 
its  preamble,  cleared  the  way  for  another 
resolution  passed  on  the  following  May, 
whereby  Rhode  Island  severed  all  allegiance 
to  Great  Britain  two  months  to  a  day  before 
that  remarkable  declaration  was  made  at 
Philadelphia.  These  instructions,  prepared 
by  the  legislature  of  Rhode  Island,  were  as 
follows : 

"Whereas,  notwithstanding  the  humble 
and  dutiful  petition  of  the  last  Congress  to 
the  King,  and  other  wise  pacific  measures 
taken  for  obtaining    a  happy  reconciliation 


-,Q  ESEK  HOPKINS 

between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies;  the 
ministry,  lost  to  every  sentiment  of  justice, 
liberty  and  humanity,  continue  to  send 
troops  and  ships  of  war  into  America,  which 
destroy  our  trade,  plunder  and  burn  our 
towns,  and  murder  the  good  people  of  these 
colonies, — 

It  is  therefore  voted  and  resolved,  that 
this  colony  most  ardently  wish  to  see  the 
former  friendship,  harmony  and  intercourse, 
between  Britain  and  these  colonies  restored, 
and  a  happy  and  lasting  connection  estab- 
lished between  both  countries,  upon  terms 
of  just  and  equal  liberty ;  and  will  concur 
with  the  other  colonies  in  all  proper  measures 
for  obtaining  those  desirable  blessings. 

And  as  every  principle,  divine  and  human, 
require  us  to  obey  that  great  and  fundamental 
law  of  nature,  self-preservation,  until  peace 
shall  be  restored  upon  constitutional  prin- 
ciples; this  colony  will  most  heartily  exert 
the  whole  power  of  government,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  other  colonies,  for  carrying  on 
this  just  and  necessary  war,  and  bringing 
the  same  to  a  happy  issue. 

And  amongst  other  measures  for  obtain- 
ing this  most  desirable  purpose,  this  Assem- 
bly  is   persuaded,     that     the     building    and 


ESEK   IIOI'KIXS  -J 

equipping  an  American  fleet,  as  soon  as 
possible,  would  greatly  and  essentiallv  con- 
duce to  the  preservation  of  the  lix'cs,  h'l)crly 
and  property,  of  the  good  j^eople  of  these 
colonies;  and  therefore  instruct  their  dele- 
gates, to  use  their  whole  influence,  at  the 
ensuing  Congress,  for  building,  at  the  Con- 
tinental expense,  a  fleet  of  suflicient  force, 
for  the  protection  of  these  colonies,  and  for 
emjiloying  them  in  such  manner  and  places 
as  will  most  effectually  annoy  our  enemies, 
and  contribute  to  the  common  defence  of 
these  colonies. 

And  they  are  also  instructed  to  use  all 
their  influence  for  carrying  on  the  war  in 
the  most  vigorous  manner,  until  peace,  lil)- 
erty  and  safety,  be  restored  and  secured  to 
these  colonies  upon  an  equitable  and  per- 
manent basis."  ' 

On  Tuesday,  October  third,  these  instruc 
tions  were  presented  to  the  Continental 
Congress  by  one  of  the  delegates  from 
Rhode  Island.  No  action  was  taken  on 
that  day  relative  to  the  suggestions  con- 
tained therein,  but  it  was  referred  to  the 
following  Friday  for  consideration  and  made 

'  Records  of  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  vol.  7,  p.  368. 


y2  ESEK  HOPKINS 

the  special  order  of  the  day.  On  that  day, 
however,  it  was  again  referred,  finally  coming 
up  for  action  the  seventh  day  of  October. 
The  suggestion  of  a  measure  of  such  exten- 
siveness  produced  a  spirited  debate,  partici- 
pated in  by  Samuel  Chase,  of  Maryland ; 
Eliphalet  Dyer  and  Silas  Deane,  of  Con- 
necticut ;  Stephen  Hopkins,  of  Rhode 
Island;  Robert  Treat  Paine,  Samuel  Adams 
and  John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts ;  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Zobly,  of  Georgia  ;  Peyton  Ran- 
dolph, of  Virginia;  John  Rutledge  and 
Christopher  Gadsden,  of  South  Carolina. 
"It  is  the  maddest  idea  in  the  world  to 
think  of  building  an  American  fleet,"  said 
Chase,  "  its  latitude  is  wonderful  we  should 
mortgage  the  whole  continent,"  but  he 
added,  I  believe,  "  we  should  provide,  two 
swift  sailing  vessels," 

Gadsden  w^as  inclined  to  be  cautious 
about  accepting  so  broad  a  measure  as  the 
"  Rhode  Island  plan."  He  believed,  however, 
that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  "  that  some 
plan  of  defense,  by  sea,  should  be  adopted." 

John  Rutledge  wanted  to  know  how 
many  ships  were  to  be  built  and  what  they 
would  cost;  until  this  was  stated  he  could 
not   form  an   opinion  ;    and,  that  the   whole 


ESEK   HOPKINS  y- 

subject  might  come  before  the  Congress  in 
a  comprehensive  manner,  he  offered  a  reso- 
lution that  a  committee  "  be  appointed  to 
prepare  a  plan  and  estimate  of  tlie  American 
fleet."  This  resolution  was  seconded  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Zobly,  of  Georgia,  who  added  : 
"  Rhode  Island  has  taken  the  lead  I  move 
that  the  delegates  of  Rhode  Island  prepare 
a  plan  giving  us  their  opinion  :  " 

Samuel  Adams  suggested  the  difficulties 
such  a  committee  would  be  under  without 
knowina:  the  wishes  of  Consrress :  "such  a 
committee  can't  make  an  estimate,  until 
they  know  how  many  ships  are  to  be  built," 
said  he. 

The  debate  then  became  general,  and  is 
delicately  alluded  to  by  John  Adams  as 
"  lightly  skirmishing."  Gadsden  charged 
his  associates  with  trying  to  throw  the 
whole  subject  into  ridicule.  He  believed 
that  so  important  a  suggestion  should  be 
seriously  considered  "  out  of  respect  to  the 
colony  of  Rhode  Island  who  desired  it." 
Deane  resented  the  attempt  to  make  light 
of  so  important  a  subject :  "  let  it  be  seriously 
debated,"  said  he,  "  I  don't  think  it  romantic 
at  all." 

John  Adams,  in  his  memoranda  of  debates 


y.  ESEK  HOPKIXS 

in  the  Continental  Congress,  notes  that : 
"  The  resolution  to  refer  the  matter  to  a 
committee  was  defeated.''  It  appears,  how- 
ever, that  it  was  subsequently  so  referred, 
for  on  the  1 3th  of  October,  Congress,  taking 
into  consideration  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee appointed  to  prepare  a  plan  for  a 
navy,  after  some  debate,  voted  ''  that  a  swift 
sailing  vessel  to  carry  ten  carriage  guns  and 
a  proportionable  number  of  swivels  with 
eighty  men  be  fitted  with  all  possible  dis- 
patch for  a  cruise  of  three  months  and  that 
the  commander  be  instructed  to  cruise  east- 
ward for  intercepting  such  transports  as 
may  be  laden  with  warlike  stores  and  other 
supplies  for  our  enemies  and  for  such  other 
purposes  as  the  Congress  shall  direct." 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare 
an  estimate  of  its  cost  and  to  contract  for 
the  fitting  out  of  the  same ;  it  was  also 
decided  at  this  time  that  another  vessel  be 
fitted  out  for  the  same  purpose,  and  that 
an  estimate  of  the  expense  of  this  be  sub- 
mitted. Mr.  Deane,  Mr.  Lans^don  and  Mr. 
Gadsden,  were  appointed  on  the  committee. 
On  the  30th  of  October  this  committee 
submitted  its  report,  and  it  was  resolved 
"  That    the    second    vessel     ordered    to    be 


ESJiA'    //O/'A'/.VS  jr 

fitted  out  on  the  13th  inst  l^e  of  such  size 
as  to  carry  fourteen  guns  and  a  propor- 
tionable number  of  swivels  and  men."  'I\vo 
other  vessels  were  also  ordered  to  be  put 
into  service,  one  to  carry  not  exceeding 
twenty  guns,  and  the  other  not  exceeding 
thirty-six  guns,  ''  for  the  protection  and 
defense  of  the  United  Colonies,  as  the  Con- 
gress shall  direct."  A  navy  was  now 
assured ;  the  Rhode  Island  plan  had  been 
accepted.  Stephen  Hopkins,  Joseph  Hewes, 
Richard  Henry  Lee  and  John  Adams,  were 
added  to  the  committee  already  appointed 
to  carry  into  effect  the  resolves  of  Congress 
with  all  possible  speed. 

This  committee,  consisting  of  seven  mem- 
bers, was  known  as  the  Naval  Committee. 
This  committee  imniediately  addressed  itself 
to  the  important  duty  referred  to  it. 

John  Adams  afterwards  wrote  :  "  The 
pleasantest  part  of  the  labors  for  the  four 
years  I  spent  in  Congress,  from  1774  to 
1778,  was  in  the  Committee  on  Naval 
Affairs.  Mr.  Lee  and  Mr.  Gadsden  were 
sensible  men  and  very  cheerful,  but  Gov- 
ernor Hopkins,  ot  Rhode  Island,  above 
seventy  years  of  age,  kept  us  all  alive. 
Upon  business,  his  experience  and  judgment 


76 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


were  very  useful.  But  when  the  business 
of  the  evening  was  over,  he  kept  us  in  con- 
versation till  eleven  and  sometimes  twelve 
o'clock.  His  custom  was  to  drink  nothing 
all  day  until  eight  in  the  evening,  then  his 
beverage  was  Jamaica  spirits  and  water. 
It  gave  him  wit,  humor,  anecdotes,  science 
and  learning.  He  had  read  Greek,  Roman 
and  British  historv,  and  was  familiar  with 
English  poetry,  particularly  Pope,  Thompson, 
and  Milton,  and  the  fiow  of  his  soul  made 
all  of  his  readino;  our  own,  and  seemed  to 
bring  in  recollection  in  all  of  us  all  we  had 
ever  read  *  *  *  Hopkins  never  drank 
to  excess,  but  all  he  drank  was  immediately 
not  only  converted  into  wit,  sense,  knowledge 
and  good  humor,  but  inspired  us  all  with  simi- 
lar qualities." 

Stephen  Hopkins  and  John  Adams, 
representing  two  important  maritime  col- 
onies, were  the  most  active  and  influential 
members  of  this  committee.  They  were 
firm  friends  then  and  they  remained  so 
ever  afterwards. 

Christopher  Gadsden,  another  member  of 
the  committee,  was  a  friend  of  Esek  Hop- 
kins, and  was  in  constant  correspondence 
with  him.    This  committee  at  once  undertook 


KSEK   HOPKINS  -y 

the  work  of  procuring  and  fitting  out  the 
vessels  ordered,  and  by  the  fifth  of  No- 
vember, 1775,  liad  so  far  progressed  in 
the  acc()m])lis]imcnt  of  the  duty  de\'()]\'ing 
upon  it  as  to  select  Esek  Hopkins,  of 
Rhode  Island,  as  commander  of  the  fleet, 
and  on  that  day  he  was  officially  notified 
of  his  appointment.  It  was  undoubtedly 
the  influence  of  Stephen  Hopkins  that 
brought  this  about,  seconded  by  the  friendly 
interest  of  John  Adams  and  Christopher 
Gadsden.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  believe 
that  the  reputation  of  Esek  Hopkins,  as  a 
successful  and  experienced  master  mariner, 
was  well  known  in  Philadelphia  at  that 
time  among  shipping  merchants  and  ship 
masters,  and  even  with  other  members  of 
the  Naval  Committee  he  may  have  had 
some  acquaintance  if  not  a  closer  friendship. 
A  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  newspaper  cor- 
respondent, about  this  time,  refers  to  Hopkins 
as  "  a  most  experienced  and  venerable  sea- 
captain."  On  the  day  following  his  selec- 
tion by  the  committee  for  this  important 
and  honorable  position,  his  brother  sent  to 
him  the  following  letter,  expressing  the  hope 
that  he  would  accept  the  appointment. 


y3  ESEK  HOPKINS 

"Philadelphia,  Nov'  6,   1775. 

Dear  Sir: 

You  will  perceive  by  a  letter 
from  the  Committee,  dated  yesterday,  that 
they  have  pitched  upon  you  to  take  the 
Command  of  a  Small  Fleet,  which  they  and 
I  hope  will  be  but  the  beginning  of  one 
much  larger. 

I  suppose  you  may  be  more  Servicable 
to  your  Country,  in  this  very  dangerous 
Crisis  of  its  affairs  by  taking  upon  you  this 
Command  than  you  can  in  any  other  way. 
I  should  therefore  hope  that  this  will  be  a 
sufficient  Inducement  for  you  to  accept  of 
this  offer.  Your  Pay  and  Perquisites  will 
will  be  such  as  you  will  have  no  Reason 
to  complain  of.  Such  officers  and  Seamen 
as  you  may  procure  to  come  with  you,  may 
be  informed,  that  they  will  enter  into  Pay 
from  their  first  engaging  in  this  service,  and 
will  be  intituled  to  share  as  Prize  one  half 
of  all  armed  Vessells,  and  the  one  third  of 
all  Transports  that  shall  be  taken. 

You  may  assure  all  with  whom  you  con- 
verse that  the  Congress  increase  in  their 
Unanimity,  and  rise  Stronger  and  Stronger 


ESEK  nOPKlXS  -Q 

in    the    Spirit   of   opposition    to   tlu-    Tyran- 
nical Measures  of  Administration 
I  am  your  affectionate  Brother 

Step   Hopkins.' 

It  was  wliile  Hopkins  was  in  command 
of  the  military  force  stationed  at  New}3ort 
that  he  received  the  notice  of  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  command  of  the  Continental 
fleet,  but  it  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of 
December  that  he  was  relieved  of  this  com- 
mand. In  the  meantime  the  situation  at 
Newport  remaining  one  of  grave  uncer- 
tainty, Governor  Cooke  applied  to  General 
Washington  for  a  regiment  to  cooperate 
with  the  Rhode  Island  troops  in  the  defence 
of  the  island.  He  also  asked  that  General 
Charles  Lee  be  sent  to  take  command  of 
the  post  which  Hopkins  was  about  to  vacate, 
and  on  the  twenty-first  of  December,  (General 
Lee  arrived  in  Providence  and  immediately 
assumed  command  of  the  forces  around 
Newport.  During  the  time  intervening 
between  Hopkins'  departure  and  the  arrival 
of  General  Lee,  Colonel  William  West  held 
the  command  of  the  post.  On  the  twent\'- 
second    day    of     December,    the    day    after 

'  Hopkins  Mss.  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society. 


8o 


ESEK  HOPKIXS 


First  lieutenants. 


General  Lee  assumed  the  command  vacated 
by  General  Hopkins,  Congress  confirmed  the 
appointment  of  Esek  Hopkins  as  Comman- 
der-in-Chief of  the  fleet  to  be  raised,  and  also 
appointed  the  following  of^cers  for  the  sev- 
eral vessels : 

Dudley  Saltonstall, 

Abraham  Whipple, 

Nicholas   Biddle,  ^'   Captams. 

John  Burroughs  Hopkins, 

John  Paul  Jones,        \ 

Rhodes  Arnold,  ' 

Stansbury, 

Hoysted  Hacker, 
Jonathan  Pitcher, 
Benjamin  Seabur3^ 
Joseph  Olney, 
Elisha  Warner, 
Thomas  W^eaver, 

McDougall, 

John  Fanning, 
Ezekiel  Burroughs, 
Daniel  Vaughan, 

The  rank  given  to  Hopkins  was  intended 
to  correspond  in  the  navy  to  that  held  by 
General  Washington  in  the  army.  The 
title     bestowed    upon    him    seems    to    have 


Second  lieutenants. 


Third  lieutenants. 


/'.■.s7-;a'  j/o/'/k/xs 


8 1 


varied:  sometimes  he  was  addressed  as 
commodoie.  sometimes  as  admiral,  while 
even  in  offieial  communications  from  the 
president  of  Congress  and  the  Nax-al  Com- 
mittee he  was  j^ix^en  l^oth  these,  as  well  as 
the  fnll  title  named  in  the  resolution  of 
Congress  appointing  him. 

Hopkins  set  out  for  Philadelphia  in  the 
early  part  of  fanuar)-,  in  the  sloop  "  A7?/)'," 
afterwards  called  the  ''  Providence T  of  the 
Rhode  Island  navy.  This  vessel  was  com- 
manded by  captain  Abraham  Whipple,  and 
had  also  on  board  a  number  of  seamen  who 
had  been  enlisted  in  Rhode  Island  to  serve 
in  the  fleet.  After  a  voyage  enlivened  by 
taking  a  small  vessel  and  three  prisoners,  the 
''  Katv'  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  January  14. 
Her  arrival  was  duly  communicated  to  Gov- 
ernor Cooke  by  Samuel  Ward,  a  member  of 
Congress  from  Rhode  Island,  on  January  16, 
who  said :  "  Our  seamen  arrived  here  day 
before  yesterday.  Those  concerned  in  the 
naval  department  are  highly  pleased  with 
them.  Their  arrival  gives  fresh  spirit  to  the 
whole  fleet," 

When  Hopkins  arrived  in  Phila(leli)hia 
he  found  a  scene  of  great  activity.  The 
Naval    Committee    had    ])romptly    comjjlied 


82 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


with  the  directions  of  Congress,  and  the 
ships  for  the  fleet,  of  which  he  was  to  take 
the  command,  were  being  assembled  in  the 
Delaware  river. 

Eight  vessels  of  varying  tonnage  were 
selected  from  the  available  merchantmen, 
hurriedly  altered  over  for  the  accommodation 
of  larger  crews  than  they  had  originally 
been  designed  for,  and  pierced  for  heavy 
guns.  The  ship  selected  as  the  flag-ship 
was  formerly  a  merchantman  named  the 
"  Black  Prince^  She  had  recently  arrived 
from  London  under  the  command  of  John 
Barry.  Maclay,  in  his  History  of  the  Navy, 
says:  "  She  w^as  a  small  vessel,  but  was  con- 
sidered a  stout  ship  of  her  class,  and  was 
named  the  'Alfred'  after  Alfred  the  Great 
who  was  commonly  regarded  as  the  founder 
of  the  British  navy."  She  carried  twenty- 
four  guns,  and  Captain  Dudley  Saltonstall' 
was  assigned  to  her  command.  The  second 
was    called    the    ''Coliimbiis''    formed}^    the 


'  No  portrait  of  Captain  Saltonstall  can  be  found.  His  com- 
mission as  captain  of  the  privateer  "  Minerva."  dated  2i  May 
1781.  signed  by  Sam'l  Huntington,  President,  and  John  Brown. 
Secretary  to  the  Hoard  of  Admiralty,  is  in  the  possession  of  Hon. 
Charles  J.  Hoadly,  Librarian  of  the  Connecticut  State  Library. 
On  the  back  of  this  Commission  is  a  description  of  Saltonstall, 
written  and  signed  by  Governor  Jonathan  Trumbull,  which  states 


ESEK   J/OI'A-/XS 


83 


merchantman  ''Sally,'"  a  thirtv-si\  frim  ship, 
twelve  and  nine  pounders  on  two  decks,  and 
forty  swivels,  and  carrying-  five  hundred  men, 
and  was  to  be  commanded  In'  Captain  Abra- 
ham Whipple,  thecaplain  of  the"A'^//i'."  wliieh 
had  brought  l{()})kins  from  Providence  to 
Philadelphia.  The  third  was  a  fourteen  gun 
brig  called  the  '^  Andrea  Doria','  after  "  the 
great  Genoese  admiral  of  that  name,"  and  was 
commanded  by  Captain  Nicholas  Biddle. 
The  fourth  was  a  fourteen  gun  brig  named  tlie 
"  Cabotr  after  Sebastian  Cabot  the  disc(A'- 
erer,  and  was  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain John  Burroughs  Hopkins'  a  son  of  the 
Commander-in-Chief. 

The  "  A'(7/r,"  of  the  Rhode  Island  navy, 
upon  her  arrival  in  Philadelphia,  was  taken 
into  the  continental  service  and  named  the 
'^  Providence  y  "She  was  named,"  says  John 
Adams,  "for  the  town  where  she  was  pur- 
chased, the  residence  of  Cjovernor  Hopkins 
and   his  brother  Esek,   whom   we   aj^pointed 


liis  "'age  44  years,  Heighth  5  ft  9  in,  Sandy  Colored  hair,  light 
tomplexion,  light  hazel  eyes  and  thick  set."  Captain  Saltonstall 
was  a  brother-in-law  of  Silas  Dcane,  son  of  (Jen.  CJurdon  Saiton- 
siall  and  grandson  of  Gurdon  Saltonstall,  Governor  of  Connecticut, 
170S-1724. 

■•'John  Hurroughs  Hopkins  left  no  descendants,  and   no  portrait 
■of  him  is  known  to  e.xist. 


84 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


the  first  captain."  This  vessel  was  a  brig 
and  carried  twelve  guns.  The  rest  of  the 
fleet  consisted  of  a  ten  gun  sloop  called 
the  "  Hornctr  Captain  William  Stone,  and 
the  "  Wasp  "  and  ''Fly,''  eight  gun  schooners. 

The  "  Wasp''  ''  Hornet''  and  "  Fly^'  were 
expected  to  be  annoying  pests  to  the  enemy, 
and  hence  their  names. 

On   the   fifth   of  January  the    Naval  Com- 
mittee had  formulated  their  directions  to  the 
commander   of  the  new  navy  in  the  follow- 
ing: 
"  Orders  and  Directions  for  the  Commander 

in    Chief    of    the    Fleet    of    the    United 

Colonies. 

You  are  to  take  care  that  proper  dis- 
cipline good  order  and  peace  be  preserved 
amongst  all  the  ships,  and  their  companies, 
under  your  command. 

You  are  to  direct  the  several  captains  to 
make  out  and  deliver  monthly  or  oftener 
an  exact  return  of  the  officers  Seamen  and 
marines  on  board  of  each  respective  vessel 
noting  their  particular  condition  and  cir- 
cumstance— also  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  provisions  and  stores  of  every  kind 
together  with  the  state  of  the  respective 
ships — which     returns    or    copies     of     them 


ESEK'  //O/'A'/A'S 


85 


you  are  to  transmit  to  Congress  or  a  Com- 
mittee by  them  appointed,  to  receive  such 
returns,  as  often  as  opportunity  offers. 

You  are  by  every  means  in  your  power 
to  keep  up  an  exact  correspondence  with 
the  Congress  or  Committee  of  Congress 
aforesaid,  and  with  the  commander  in 
chief  of  the  Continental  forces  in   America. 

As  by  your  instructions  vou  are  im- 
powered  to  equip  such  \^essels  as  may  fall 
into  your  power,  and  to  appoint  officers 
for  such  Vessels — as  often  as  this  shall 
happen  you  are  by  the  very  first  oppor- 
tunity to  transmit  to  Congress  or  the 
Committee  aforesaid,  the  burthen,  force  and 
manner  of  equipment  of  such  vessels,  to- 
gether with  an  exact  list  of  such  officers 
as  you  may  appoint,  in  order  that  their 
appointment  may  be  confirmed  by  Congress 
or  others  be  appointed  in  their  stead. 

You  will  be  particularly  careful  to  give 
such  orders  and  instructions,  in  writing,  to 
the  ofificers  under  your  command  as  the 
2:ood  of  the  service  mav  in  everv  case 
require — to  devise  or  adopt  and  give  out  to 
the  Commanding  officer  of  every  ship,  such 
signals,  and  other  marks  and  directions  as 
mav  be    necessarv  for  their  direction. 


36  B-SEK   HOPKINS 

You  are  to  take  very  particular  care  that 
all  the  men  under  your  command  be  prop- 
erly fed  and  taken  care  of  when  they  are 
in  health,  as  well  as  when  they  are  sick 
or  wounded.  You  will  also  very  carefully 
attend  to  all  the  just  complaints  which  may 
be  made  by  any  of  the  people  under  your 
command  and  see  that  they  are  speedily 
and  effectually  redressed  for  on  a  careful 
attention  to  those  important  subjects  the 
good  of  the  service  essentially  depends. 

You  are  always  to  be  exceedino-ly  careful 
that  your  arms,  as  well  great  as  small,  be 
kept  in  the  very  best  condition  for  service 
and  that  all  your  cartridges,  powder  shott 
and  every  accoutrement  whatsoever  belong- 
ing to  them  be  kept  in  the  most  exact 
order:  always  fit  for  immediate  service. 

You  will  carefully  attend  to  such  prisoners 
as  may  fall  into  your  hands — see  that  they 
be  well  and  humanely  treated — you  may 
also  send  your  prisoners  on  shore  in  such 
convenient  places  where  they  may  be  de- 
livered to  the  Conventions,  Committees  of 
Safety  or  inspection  in  order  to  their  being 
taken  care  of  and  properly  provided  for. 

You  will  also  give  proper  orders  and 
directions  to  the   Captains   or  Commanders 


ESEK   IIOPKIXS 


87 


of  the  Ships  or  Vessels  under  your  com- 
mand in  case  they  should  be  separated  b\' 
stress  of  weather  or  any  other  accident  in 
what  manner  and  at  what  places  they 
shall  ag'aiii  join  the  Meet. 

Step    Hopkins 
Christ  Gadsden 
Silas   Deane 
Joseph   Hewes." 

About  the  time  that  Hopkins  arrived  in 
Philadelphia,  Gadsden,  of  the  Naval  Com- 
mittee, was  suddenly  called  to  South  Caro- 
lina, which  colony  he  then  represented 
in  congress,  to  take  command  of  his  regi- 
ment, the  first  regiment  of  foot.  On  the 
tenth  of  January  he  sent  to  Hopkins  a  letter, 
detailinfj,  at  some  leni^^th,  the  situation  in 
Charlestow^n,  and  advising  him  of  the  men 
there  to  whom  he  could  look  for  advice  and 
assistance.  The  statements  in  the  letter 
give  unmistakable  evidence  that  the  Xaxal 
Committee  had  contemplated  that  the  fleet 
should  be  used,  in  the  proposed  operations, 
against  the  enemy  at  Charlestown.  This 
letter  was  as  follows : 


38  ESEK  HOPKINS 

"  Philad\    io'^   Janry  1776 

D^   Sir 

Inclosed  is  Copy  of  an  Order  from 
the  Committee  to  Cap'.  Stone  sent  by 
Directions  of  Congress  on  an  Application 
from  Maryland  w''''.  it  is  necessary  you 
shou'd  have — 

I  also  take  the  Liberty  to  send  you  a 
List'  of  the  Field  Ofificers  &  Captains  of 
two  Regiments  of  Foot  &  three  Compa- 
nies of  Artillery  all  Provincials  Station'd 
in  Charles  Town  S°.  Carolina,  shou'd  you 
go    there,  upon    your    Arrival    off    the    Bar 


'  Among  the  Hopkins  I'apers  in  the  Rhode  Island  Historical 
Society,  is  this  list  of  the  officers  referred  to,  as  follows  :  Christ 
Gadsden.  Colonel  of  the  First  Regiment  of  foot  in  South  Carolina; 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  Isaac  Huger;  Major,  Charles  C.  Pinkney; 
Captains,  William  Cattel,  Adam  McDonald,  Thomas  Lynch  Jr., 
William  Scott,  John  Ijarnwell,  Thomas  Pinckney.  Edmund  Hyrne, 
Isoger  Saunders,  Benjamin  Cattel. 

SKCOND    REGIMKNT. 

Colonel,  William  Moultrie;  Lieutenant  Colonel,  Isaac  Motte; 
Major,  Alexander  Mcintosh;  Captains.  Francis  .Marion,  Peter 
Horry,  Daniel  Horry,  Nicholas  Eveleigh,  James  McDonald, 
Isaac   Harleston,  William    Mason,  Francis  Huger,  Charles  Motte. 

OFFICERS    OF    ARTILLERY. 

Lieutenant  Colonel,  Owen  Roberts,  Esq.;  Major,  Hon.  Barnard 
Elliott;  Captains,  Barnard  Beekman,  Charles  Drayton,  .Syms 
WTiite. 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


89 


the  Pilot  will  informe  you  what  Officer  is 
at  Fort  Johnson  or  an\-  of  the  nearest 
Batteries  to  \()u,  from  whom  you  may 
depend  on  all  the  Assistance  they  can 
give,  they  are  most  of  tliem  Gentlemen  of 
considerable  Fortunes  with  us  who  have 
enter'd  into  the  service  merely  from  l^rin- 
ci])le  &  to  promote  &  give  Credit  to  the 
Cause,  they  take  it  by  Turns  to  Idc  at  the 
Fort,  &  the  Zeal  &  Activity  of  all  of  them 
are  such  that  you  can't  happen  amiss  let 
who  will  be  there — 

In  Charles  Town  my  ])articular  h^-iends 
M'.  Lowndes,  NF.  Ferguson,  Coll  Powell, 
NP.  Benj"  Elliott,  Coll  Pinckney,  IVP.  Drayton, 
M^  Timothy  &  the  Rev^.  M"".  Tennant  a 
Countryman  of  yours  will  introduce  }'ou  to 
many  others,  who  will  all  be  glad  to  have  an 
Opportunity  of  obliging  you  &  promoting 
the  vService, 

I  wrote  Yesterday  to  AF.  Ferguson  one  of 
the  Gent"  just  mentionVl  by  Way  of  Georgia, 
by  a  Gentleman  I  can  depend  on  who  will 
destroy  my  Letter  should  he  be  taken,  in 
this  Letter  I  have  hinted  to  look  out  for 
you,  «S:  be  ready  to  assist  you  at  a  moment's 
Warning —  The  two  large  ships  seen  off 
of  Virginia  the   29"'   of  last   Month    we  are 


go  ESEK  HOPKINS 

told  were  not  bound  there,  however  you  will 
know  more  certainly  by  the  Time  you  get 
out  of  the  Capes  I  make  no  doubt — I  hope 
you  wnll  be  able  to  effect  that  Service,  but 
whether  you  may  or  not,  sooner  or  later  I 
flatter  myself  we  shall  have  your  Assistance 
at  Carolina,  when  you  may  depend  on  an 
easy  Conquest  or  at  least  be  able  to  know 
without  Loss  of  Time  when  off  our  Bar  the 
Strength  of  the  Enemy,  &  shou'd  it  be  too 
much  for  you  prudently  to  encounter  w'''  I 
hardly  think  probable  if  soon  attempted  w"\ 
the  assistance  to  be  depended  on  from  us 
you  may  in  such  Cases  retreat  with  great 
Ease,  Safety  &  Expedition — 

Wishing  you  every  Success  you  can  pos- 
sibly wish  yourself — 

I  am  D'.  Sir  y'.  most  hble  Serv^ 

Christ  Gadsden 

P.  S.  Pray  make  my  Compliments  to 
Cap'  Salterstall  &  the  rest  of  your  Captains, 
&  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you  if  you  go  to 
Carolina  to  introduce  them  to  any  or  all  the 
Gentlemen  I  have  mention'd  who  I  am  sure 
will  be  glad  to  show  them  every  Civility  in 
their  Power —  I  hope  Cap'.  Whipple  is 
better — 


ESEK    //O/'K/.YS  gj 

One  oi  the  Marvland  Gent".  M'.  Alexan- 
der  a  Delegate  of  that  Colony  tells  me  there 
is  a  very  good  Ship  of  about  20  guns  there 
easily  fitted  out  \v''\  he  is  in  hopes  will  join 
you  with  the  '  HorucT  &  '  Wasp\  &  that 
he  shou'd  press  it  to  be  done  this  1  mention 
by  the  by, — 
To  Esek  Hopkins  Esq.  Commander  in  Chief 

of  the  I-^leet  of  the  United  Colonies."  ' 

The  letter  to  Capt.  Stone  of  the  ''Hornet',' 
alluded  to  in  the  correspondence,  directed 
him  to  co'iperate  with  Hopkins,  and,  for  its 
importance  in  connection  with  the  events 
which  subsequently  occured,  is  here  pre- 
sented : 

"Philadelphia    io'"'  January  1776 
Sir: 

We  are  ordered  by  Congress  to  sig- 
nify to  you  that  you  are  with  the  'Hornet' 
&  '  Wasp '  under  your  Command  to  take 
under  your  convoy  such  Vessels  as  are  ready 
for  the  sea  as  shall  be  committed  to  your 
Care  by  the  Com  of  Safety  at  Maryland  & 
see  them  safe  through  the  Capes  of  Virginia 
and   without   a   moments   loss   of   time    after 

'  Hopkins  I'apers.  Vol.  II,  p.  3. 


Q2  ESEK  HOPKINS 

this  service  is  clone  you  are  to  go  to  the 
Capes  of  Delaware  &  proceed  upwards  till 
you  join  the  fleet,  or  in  case  of  its  having 
sailed  receive  such  orders  as  may  be  left  for 
you  by  Esek  Hopkins  Esq  Commander  in 
Chief  of  the  Fleet  of  the  United  Colonies 
W''''  orders  you  are  to  Obey 

Stephen   Hopkins 
Christ  Gadsden 
Silas  Deane 
Joseph   Hewes 

To  William  Stone  Esq  Commander  of  the 
Sloop  '  Hcnnict^  In  the  service  of  the 
United   Colonies."' 

The  day  after  Hopkins'  arrival,  Gadsden 
addressed  to  him  another  letter ;  he  was 
about  to  depart  from  Philadelphia  on  a 
pilot  boat  in  response  to  his  orders  to  join 
his  regiment.  This  letter  o-ives  additional 
information  as  to  the  expected  operations 
of  the  fleet.     It  was  as  follows: 

"Philadelphia    15   Jany   1776 
Sir 

I  last  night  received  my  orders  to  go 
to  Carolina  &  expect  to  set  out  on  Thursday 

'  Hopkins  Papers,  \'ol.  II,   p.  33. 


ESEK   nOPK'IXS  ,.^ 

mornino-  from  one  of  our  Pilot  Boats  now 
at  New  Castle  in  whieh  1  shall  take  my 
chance — Should  you  come  our  wa\'  if  vou 
think  pr()])er  to  let  me  know  to  morrow  or 
next  day  what  signal  you  will  show  when 
off  our  Bar,  you  may  depend  on  my  keep- 
ing a  good  Look-out  for  you  &  to  let  no 
Body  know  the  signal  but  where  it  is 
necessary 

I   am   Yr  most   hble   Sert 

Christ   Gadsden  " 

In  compliance  with  the  request  made  by 
Gadsden,  Hopkins  devised  a  signal  bv 
which  the  arrival  of  the  fieet  might  be 
known,  and  informed  him  that  "  Some  one 
of  the  I^'leet  if  together  or  the  small  sloop 
if  a  lone  will  highst  a  Striped  flagg  half  uj5 
the  flying  stay."  This  paragraph  in  Hop- 
kins' own  handwriting  is  added  to  the  origi- 
nal letter  of  Gadsden's,  yet  preserved."  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  it  was  the  intention 
of  the  Naval  Committee  that  the  fleet, 
among  other  movements,  should  proceed  to 
the  Carolinas  and  coiiperate  with  the  land 
forces  against  the  enemy  at  that  point. 

'  Hopkins  Tapers,  \'ol.   II,  p.  4. 


Q  ,  ESEK  HOPKINS 

The  special  orders  given  Hopkins  by 
the  Marine  Committee  form  an  important 
part  of  tlie  events  which  later  occurred, 
and,  as  they  must  be  considered  in  making 
a  correct  estimate  of  his  conduct,  they  are 
here  given : 

"  To  EsEK   Hopkins,  Esquire, 

Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Fleet  of 
the    United  Colonies. 

Sir:  The  United  Colonies  directed  by 
principles  of  just  and  necessary  preserva- 
tion against  the  oppressive  and  cruel  system 
of  the  British  Administration  whose  violent 
and  hostile  proceedings  by  sea  and  land 
against  these  unoffendino-  colonies,  have 
rendered  it  an  indispensible  duty  to  God, 
their  country  and  posterity  to  prevent  by 
all  means  in  their  power  the  ravage,  deso- 
lation and  ruin  that  is  intended  to  be  fixed 
on  North  America.  As  a  part  and  a 
most  important  part  of  defence,  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  have  judged  it  necessary  to 
fit  out  several  armed  vessels  which  they 
have  put  under  your  command  having  the 
strongest  reliance  on  your  virtuous  attach- 
ment to  the  great  cause  of  America,  and 
that     by    your    valour,    skill    and    diligence, 


KSEK   //OJ'h'JXS  „r 

seconded  by  the  officers  and  men  under 
your  command  our  unnatural  enemies  may 
meet  with  all  possible  distress  on  the  sea. 
Vov  that  purpose  you  aie  instructed  with 
tlie  utmost  diligence  to  proceed  with  the 
said  fleet  to  sea  and  if  tlie  winds  and 
weather  will  possibly  admit  of  it  to  pro- 
ceed directly  for  Chesapeak  Bay  in  V^ir- 
ginia  and  when  nearl}'  arrived  there  you 
will  send  ft)rward  a  small  swift  sailing 
vessel  to  gain  intelligence  of  the  enemies 
situation  and  strength.  If  by  such  intelli- 
gence you  find  that  they  are  not  greatly 
superior  to  your  own  you  are  immediately 
to  enter  the  said  bay  search  out  and  attack, 
take  or  destroy  all  the  naval  force  of  our 
enemies  that  you  may  find  there.  If  you 
should  be  so  fortunate  as  to  execute  this 
business  successfully  in  Virginia  you  are 
then  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  south- 
ward and  make  yourself  master  of  such 
forces  as  the  enemy  may  ha\e  both  in 
North  and  South  Carolina  in  such  manner 
as  you  may  think  most  prudent  from  the 
intelligence  you  shall  receive ;  either  b\- 
dividing  your  fleet  or  keeping  it  together. 
Having  comj)leated  \'our  business  in  the 
Carolinas  you   are   without  delay  to  proceed 


96 


ESEK   HOPKIXS 


northward  directly  to  Rhode  Island,  and  attack, 
take  and  destroy  all  the  enemies  naval  force 
that  you  may  find  there.  You  are  also  to  seize 
and  make  prize  of  all  such  transport  ships 
and  other  vessels  as  may  be  found  carrying 
supplies  of  any  kind  to  or  any  way  aiding  or 
assisting  our  enemies.  You  will  dispose  of  all 
the  men  you  make  prisoners  in  such  manner 
as  you  may  judge  most  safe  for  North 
America  and  least  retard  the  service  you 
are  upon.  If  you  should  take  any  ships  or 
other  vessels  that  are  fit  to  be  armed  and  man- 
ned for  the  service  of  the  United  Colonies, 
you  will  make  use  of  every  method  for  pro- 
curing them  to  be  thus  equipped.  You  will 
also  appoint  proper  officers  for  carrying  this 
matter  into  execution,  and  to  command  said 
ships  as  soon  as  they  can  be  made  ready  for 
the  sea.  For  this  purpose  you  will  apply  to 
the  several  assemblies,  Conventions  and 
Committees  of  safety  and  desire  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Cono;ress  to  aid  and  assist 
you  by  every  way  and  means  in  their  power 
for  the  execution  of  this  whole  service. 

Notwithstanding  these  particular  orders, 
which  it  is  hoped  you  will  be  able  to 
execute,  if  bad  winds  or  stormy  weather, 
or  any  other  unforseen  accident  or  disaster 


KSEK   I/OJ'A'/XS  g- 

disable  you  so  to  do,  you  are  then  to  follow 
such  courses  as  your  best  judgment  shall 
su2:o:est  to  vou  as  most  useful  to  the  Ameri- 
can  cause  and  to  distress  the  enemy  by  all 
means    in    )'our    i)()\vcr.      January    5,    1776. 

Stephen    Hopkins 
Christopher   Gadsden 
Silas   Deane 
Joseph    Hewes  '  " 

There  was  another  project,  however,  not 
mentioned  in  the  orders,  that  had  been 
discussed  both  by  Congress  and  the  Naval 
Committee,  which  was  of  greater  importance 
to  the  colonies  at  this  time  than  the  opera- 
tions around  Charlestown  and  other  points 
on  the  southern  seaboard,  and  will  find  its 
place  in  the  exents  that  subsequent!)-  took 
place. 

It  w^as  the  intention  of  the  Naval  Com- 
mittee to  have  the  fleet  sail  early  in  January, 
but  a  severe  spell  of  cold  weather  set  in, 
the  Delaware  was  frozen  over,  and  obstructed 
the  passage  of  the  ships  down  the  river.  It 
was  about  this  time  that  the  first  flag  ever 
hoisted  on  an  American  v\ar  vessel  was  tlung 


'  From  the  original  on  file  in  the  State  Department,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

7 


98 


ESEK  nOPKIXS 


to  the  breeze,  and  occurred  when  Esek  Hop- 
kins, the  commander  of  the  squadron,  was 
received  on  board  the  ''AlfTcd^'  his  flag-ship. 

Ever  since  Hopkins'  arrival  in  Philadel- 
phia he  had  been  busily  at  work  with  the 
Naval  Committee,  arrano-inij  the  details  for 
the  conduct  of  the  expedition.  At  last  the 
day  came  when  all  these  arrangements  were 
completed,  and  Hopkins  was  ready  to  take 
command  of  the  little  sc{uadron  of  the  United 
colonies. 

Lying  at  anchor,  amid  the  floating  ice,  lay 
the  eight  vessels  of  the  new  navy,  their  forms 
distinctly  outlined  against  the  winter  sky. 

The  morning  was  clear  and  cold.  Shortly 
before  nine  o'clock  a  barge  put  off  from  the 
''Alfred'''  and  was  rowed  to  the  slip  at  the 
foot  of  Walnut  street,  where,  without  any 
delay,  Hopkins  stepped  aboard  and  the  barge 
returned  through  the  floating  ice  to  the  flag- 
ship. Crowds  of  people  lined  the  wharves 
and  shore  lands,  while  the  shipping  in  the 
harbor  was  appropriately  decorated  as  befit 
the  occasion. 

As  Hopkins  gained  the  deck  Captain 
Dudley  Saltonstall  Qrave  a  signal,  and  First 
Lieutenant  John  Paul  Jones  hoisted  a  yel- 
low silk  flag  bearing  "  a  lively  representation 


MC  Hoi. A.--    lilKDI.E, 

CAPTAIN    IIP   THE    "ANDREA    llnRIA." 

Froiii  an  eugmviiig  by  J-^thuin,  in  the  possession  o/  the 

Rho.l^  lx/„„,f  //,■>■/,.,/,„/   s,,, /,r, 


ks/-:a'  //o/'A'/.vs  qq 

of  a  rattlesnake  "  and  tlic  motto  "  Don't  tread 
on  me." 

As  this  standard  fluttered  in  the  cold  crisp 
air  the  crowds  along  the  water  front  burst 
into  cheers,  and  the  guns  on  the  shipping 
and  the  artillery  ashore  jK^aled  out  its  salute 
to  the  flag. 

With  this  simple  ceremony  the  navy  of 
the  colonies  went  into  commission,  but  it 
was  a  ceremony  of  deeper  significance  to 
Hopkins,  for  with  this  act  he  had  the  honor 
of  being  the  first  who  dared  to  unfurl  the 
American  fiag  in  defiance  of  a  powerful  foe. 

This  was  an  e\"ent.  too,  of  such  importance 
that  Gadsden,  on  the  eighth  day  of  Febru- 
ary, presented  to  Congress,  as  a  memorial  of 
the  occasion,  "an  elegant  standard  such  as 
is  to  be  used  by  the  commander  in  chief  of 
the  American  Navv,  beino"  a  yellow  flaar 
with  a  lively  representation  of  a  rattlesnake 
in  the  middle  in  the  attitude  of  going  to 
strike  and  these  words  underneath  '  Hon't 
tread  on  me.'"  It  is  unfortunate  that  the 
first  fiag  of  the  navy  should  not  have  been 
preserved  ;  it  hung  for  some  time  near  the 
president's  chair  in  the  congress  room,  but 
it  subsequently  disappeared  without  lea\ing 
an\-  trace  behind. 


lOO 


ESEK  HOPKIXS 


The  cold  weather  continued  and  the  ice 
held  the  ships  from  sailing.  Late  in  the 
month,  on  the  27th,  Hopkins  wrote  to  the 
Naval  Committee  : 

" Gentlemen 

The  River  holds  still  froze  so  much 
that  the  Pilots  will  not  undertake  to  carry 
us  from  here  But  perhaps  we  may  sail 
before  the  thing's  can  come  for  the  small 
sloop  by  Water  think  it  will  be  best  to  send 
some  of  the  most  necessary  things  by  land 
such  as  some  of  the  swivel  o^uns  Some  mus- 
ket  ball  some  old  Canvas  &  six  20  feet  oars." 

On  the  tenth  of  February,  1776,  the 
squadron  was  ready  to  sail,  and  had  rendez- 
voused at  Cape  Henlopen.  All  of  the  ofifi- 
cers  and  men  had  not  arrived  on  board  the 
ships,  and  Hopkins  sent  from  his  flag-ship 
an  imperative  letter  for  them  to  "  make 
what  dispatch  you  can  as  the  fleet  will  sail 
the  first  wind." 

Hopkins  now  promulgated  an  elaborate 
code  of  sio^nals,  and  issued  the  foUowinor 
orders  to  the  captains  of  the  vessels  in  his 
fleet: 

"  Orders  given  the  several  Captains  in 
the  fleet  at  Sailing  from  the  Capes  of  Dela- 
ware Febv  1 776. 


ESEK  //OJ'A'/XS  jQj 


Sir 

You  are  iKTcby  ordered  to  keej) 
Company  witli  nie  if  possible,  and  truly 
observe  the  Signals  given  by  the  Ship  I  am 
in — but  in  case  you  should  be  Separated  in 
a  gale  of  wind  or  otherwise,  you  then  are  to 
use  all  possible  means  to  join  the  Fleet  as 
soon  as  possible,  but  if  you  cannot  in  four 
days  after  you  leave  the  Fleet,  you  are  to 
make  the  best  of  your  way  to  the  Southern 
part  of  Abacco  (one  of  the  Bahama  Islands) 
and  there  wait  for  the  Fleet  fourteen  days — 
but  if  the  fleet  does  not  join  you  in  that 
time,  you  are  to  cruise  in  such  places  as  you 
think  will  most  annoy  the  Enemy  and  you 
are  to  send  into  Port  for  Tryal,  all  British 
Vessels  or  property  or  other  vessels  with 
any  supplies  for  the  iVIinisterial  I-^orces,  who 
you  may  make  yourself  Master  of  to  such 
places  as  you  may  think  best  within  the 
United  Colonies. 

In  case  you  are  in  very  great  danger  of 
being  taken  you  are  to  destroy  these  orders 
and  your  signals 

EsEK   Hopkins 

CoiiDur  in  Chief ''^ 


'  Letters  and   orders   of   the    Commander  in   chief,  in    Rhode 

Island  Historical  Society,  page  5. 


,Q2  ESEK  HOPKINS 

A  few  da)-s  later,  however,  the  ships  were 
manned  and  ready  to  sail,  and  on  the  seven- 
teenth, the  wind  being  favorable,  the  squad- 
ron orot  under  weio'h  and  sailed  out  on  to 
the  broad  Atlantic,  and  before  nightfall  had 
disappeared  below  the  horizon. 


CHAPIER   IV 

THE    FIRST    CklTSE     OF    THE     AMERICAN     FLEET. 


W 


^HILE  it  was  the  intention  of  tlic  Naval 
'  V  Committee  that  the  fleet  should  cruise 
to  the  southward  and  operate  against  the 
British  ships  stationed  along  the  coast  as 
far  down  as  Georgia,  there  was  another 
project  in  view  wliich  liad  been  discussed 
by  the  committee  as  w-ell  as  by  Congress 
itself.  It  was  a  matter  of  so  much  im- 
portance that  it  had  not  been  discussed 
outside  of  the  secret  sessions  of  Congress, 
and,  in  the  Naval  Committee,  only  behind 
closed  doors.  So  well  had  the  secret  been 
kept  that  it  is  doubtful  if  it  were  known 
to  any  one  in  the  fleet  but  IIoj)kins,  and 
even  to  this  day  it  has  never  been  consid- 
ered in  any  account  of  Hopkins'  first  cruise 
with  his  squadron.  In  the  early  days  of 
the  American  Revolution  the  scarcity  of 
powder  was  one  of  the  most  alarming- 
conditions  with  which  the  authorities  had  to 
deal.     The  supj^ly  from   England   had   been 


J04  ESEK  HOPKINS 

entirely  cut  off,  and  British  cruisers  swept  the 
sea,  interfering  with  its  importation.  Up  to 
this  period  in  the  history  of  the  colonies  pow- 
der mills  had  not  become  numerous,  and  those 
already  erected  certainly  were  not  of  a  capacity 
to  turn  out  a  quantity  and  quality  sufficient 
to  meet  the  demands  of  actual  warfare. 
At  the  ver)^  time  preparations  were  being 
made  to  equip  the  fieet  and  put  it  in  com- 
mission, Washington  wrote,  "  Our  want  of 
powder  is  inconceivable,  a  daily  waste  and 
no  supply  presents  a  gloomy  prospect." 
Already  this  want  had  been  discussed  by 
Congress  and  a  plan  for  supplying  it  formu- 
lated. Nearly  a  month  before,  on  November 
29,  information  was  laid  before  a  secret  ses- 
sion of  Cono-ress  held  that  dav,  that  there 
was  "a  large  quantity  of  powder  in  the 
island  of  Providence,"  and  it  was  forthwith 
"  ordered  that  the  foregoing  committee ' 
take  measures  for  securino-  and  brinijino^ 
away  the  said  powder:  and  that  it  be  an 
instruction  to  the  said  committee,  in  case 
they  can  secure  said  powder  to  have  it 
brought  into  the  port  of  Philadelphia  or  to 
some  other  port  as  near  Philadelphia  as  can 


'  Naval  Committee. 


'Cni...  ncf  ocr^-.^'Tmeryi'JToiic'-.. 


From  the  orif;inal  in  "  Gi-rscltichte  tier  Krirge,"  177S. 
Portrait  Plate  2. 


ESKK   HOPKINS 


lO^ 


be  with  safety."'  In  the  orders  given  Hop- 
kins before  sailing  this  object  is  not  men- 
tioned, but  that  it  was  part  of  his  plan  of 
action  is  evident  from  the  orders  which 
Hopkins  issued  to  his  captains  upon  sailing 
from  the  Capes,  wherein  he  directs  them  "  to 
make  the  best  of  your  wa)-  to  the  southern 
part  of  Abacco  (one  of  the  Bahama  Islands) 
and  there  wait  for  the  fleet  fourteen  days." 
It  would  seem,  therefore,  from  this,  that  two 
objects  were  in  view  when  the  fleet  sailed  ; 
first,  to  harrass  the  British  ships  along  the 
coasts  of  the  southern  and  New  Hngland 
colonies,  and  second,  to  proceed  to  the 
island  of  New  Providence  and  secure  the 
powder  and  such  other  stores  as  were  con- 
tained in  the  forts  located  there.  With 
these  directions  Hopkins  sailed. 

At  the  very  outset  of  the  cruise  the  de- 
pressing influence  of  sickness  was  felt 
throughout  the  fleet,  "  we  had  many  sick 
and  four  of  the  vessels  had  a  laroe  number 
sick  with  the  small  pox,"  wrote  Hopkins, 
some  weeks  later.  Soon  after  starting  the 
wind  came  on  "  to  blow  hard "  from  the 
north    east.       The  j^rospects  of    weatheiing 


Secret  Journals  of  Congress. 


io6 


ESEA'  I/OPKIXS 


the  capes  in  mid  winter  were  no  more 
promising  a  hundred  years  ago  than  they 
are  to-day.  Hatteras  had  its  dangers  then 
as  now.  Notwithstanding  the  heavy  gales 
the  fleet  kept  well  together  until  the  second 
day  out,   when  the   ''Hornet'''   and   "'Fly'"' 


'  "  A  list  of  Seamen  and   Landsmen  that  came  out  of  the  Capes 
of  Delaware  in  the   'Flv.' 


Hoysted  Hacker 
John  Fanning 
Robert  Robinson 
William  Weaver 
John  Downey 
Thomas  Bayes 
Joseph  John  ways 
Joseph  Shereman 
John  Vounaf 
William  Pierce 
John  Yorke 
Joseph  Breed 
Christopher  Crandal 
John  Cooke 
Daniel  Scranton 
John  Clarke 
Quaco  Chadwick 
Weden  Carpenter 
Stephen  Fowler 
Parker  Hall       . 
Samuel  Tyler    . 
Peleg  Johnson 
Reuben  Daye 
Machesan  Chase 
Wm  McWhoton 
Lawrence  Ash 
John  Chadwick 


Capt 

I.ieut 

Master 

Steward  and  Cooper 

Boatswain 

Seaman 

Landsman 

Midshipman 

Seaman 

Landsman 


Cooper 
Seaman 
Landsman 


Seaman 

Landsman 

Landsman 

Seaman 

P.OV 


ESKk'   //O/'A'/.VS 


107 


disappeared  from   sight  and   tlie   former  did 
not  again  join  the  squadron. 

When  the  condition  of  the  fleet  was 
brought  to  Hopkins'  attention,  he  decided 
to   make   his   course   for   the    Bahamas  into 


I  no  I, on  Hacker 

Boy 

l.avin  Dashield 

Mate 

I'hilip  lestes      . 

I'KISONERS 

Seaman 

James  Huts 

W 

m  Boann 

James  I'owel 

V 

rank  Carey 

iMichael  'I'ror 

y 

Dragon  &  Surinam  Wanton  negro 

(From  the  original  among  the  Hopkins  Papers.) 
The  following  list  of  oflicers  on  board  the  Fleet  is  found  among 
the  Hopkins  Papers  in  the  Rhode  Island   Historical  Society,  and, 
while  it  has  no  date,  it  doubtless  gives  the  personnel  of  the  ships  at 
the  time  the  fleet  sailed. 


"  OFFICKRS   O.N    HOARU 

oncers  on   Board  the 
Benj  Seabury     . 
Jonathan  I'itcher 
Jonathan  Maltbie 
John  Earie 
Thomas  Vaughan 
Philip  Alexander 
Walter  .Spooner 
Robert  Saunders 
Charles  Buckley 
Kufus  Jenckes    ' 
George  House 
Esek  Hopkins  Jr 
Francis  Varrel 
Joseph  Harrison 
James  Thomas 


HE    FLF.ET. 

'Alfred  • 


Lieutenant 

do 

do 
Master 
1st  .Mate 
3d  .Mate 
.Midshipman 


Boatswain 

Surgeon 

Gunner 


io8 


ESEA'  HOPKINS 


warmer  latitudes ;  besides  this  he  had 
learned,  previous  to  sailing,  that  on  ac- 
count of  the  severity  of  the  weather  the 
enemy's  ships  had  all  sought  refuge  in  the 
harbors  alono^  the  seaboard,  and  that  he  must 


Officers 

on    Board  the   ' 

A .  Dor  in  ' 

James  Josiah    . 

1st  Lieutenant 

Elijah  Warner 

2d        ditto 

John  McDougall 

3         ditto 

Benjamin  Dunn 

Master 

William  Moran 

1st  Mate 

John  Dent 

2d    ditto 

John  Margeson 

3d    ditto 

William  Reynolds 

Midshipman 

William  Lamb 

Dennis  Learj' 

. 

Evan  Bevan 

. 

Alex  McKenzie 

. 

Wm  Darby     . 

. 

Office 

rs  on  Board  the 

•  Cabot ' 

Elisha  Hinman 

1st  Lieut 

Thomas  Weaver 

2d  Lieut 

John  Welch      . 

Capt  Marines 

John  Kerr 

Lieut 

John  Sword 

Midshipman 

Ephraim  Goldsmith 

. 

Abel  Frisbie     . 

. 

Peter  Richards 

. 

David  Roberts 

Gunner 

Rich'd  Potter    . 

Boatswain 

Richard  Fordham 

'Providence 

Carpenter 

William  Crinnell 

Lieutenant 

John  Rathbun 

ditto 

ESEK   HOPKINS 


109 


be  the  aggressor  and  approacli  a  dangerous 
coast  with  httle  prospect  of  gaining  any  ad- 
vantage. Mnch  liad  been  left  to  his  discre- 
tion by  his  orders,  and  unforeseen  accidents 
and  disasters  had  disabled  him  from  the  out- 
set; he  therefore  signaled  the  ships,  the 
course  w^s  laid  for  the  island  of  Abacco,  and 
the  lookout  off  Charlestown  bar  watched  in 
vain  for  the  "  striped  flagg  half  uj)  the  flying 
stay."  The  island  of  Abacco  is  the  northerly 
of  the  Bahama  group,  and  lies  about  thirteen 
lea<rues    to   the    northward   of  the    island   of 


Wm  Hopkins    . 
Sam.  lirownel 
John  Margeson 
Joseph  Hrovvn 
John  McNeal    . 
Joseph  Hardy 

Joseph  Olney    . 
PZzekiel  Burroughs 
Joshua  Fanning 
Daniel  Beears 
Rogers 


'  Co  I II  HI /ills 


Master 
actg  ditto 
1st  Mate 
2d  ditto 
3d     •• 
Midshipman 

2d  Lieut 
3d       •' 
Master 
Midshipman 
Mate" 


In  addition  to  the  names  of  men  serving  on  board  the  "Alfred  " 
Nathaniel  Cooke,  of  Cumberland,  R.  I.,  and  John  Fiske,  of 
Northborough,  Mass.,  enlisted  as  marines,  in  October,  1776. 

Nathaniel  Cooke  was  born  in  the  town  of  Cumberland,  April  15. 
174S.  In  fune,  1776,  he  was  drafted,  and  served  one  month  as  a 
private  in  a  company  of  minute  men  commanded  by  Col.  George 
Peck,  and  later  in  the  year  served  a  further  term  of  one  month. 
In  October  he  enlisted  on  board  the   '\4lfred,"  John    Paul  Jones 


J  J  Q  ESEK  HOPKINS 


New  Providence,  the  objective  point  of  the 
expedition.  For  many  years  this  island  had 
been  a  favorite  point  of  attack.  Seventy 
years  and  more  before,  it  had  been  attacked 
by  the  French  and  Spaniards,  the  fort  blown 
up,  the  church  and  other  buildings  burnt, 
and  the  governor  and  many  of  the  princi- 
pal inhabitants  carried  away  into  captivity; 
this  was  in  July,  1703.  Not  satisfied  wtih 
this,  however,  the  attacking  party  returned 
again  in  October  and  completed  the  de- 
struction of  the  place.  So  completely  was 
the  island  devastated  that  it  is  said  "when 
the  last  of  the  governors  appointed  by  the 


Commander,  then  lying  at  Holmes  Hole,  Buzzards  Piay.  Almost 
immediately  afterwards  the  vessel  put  to  sea,  cruising  to  the  east- 
ward. During  this  cruise  she  took  seven  prizes,  one  of  which  was 
the  British  ship  ''Mellish"  bound  for  Quebec,  one  of  the  richest 
captures  of  the  war  ;  for  she  had  on  board  eleven  thousand  stand 
of  arms  and  the  same  number  of  suits  of  clothing  destined  for  the 
British  army,  and  several  brass  field  pieces.  Cooke  served  on  the 
"Alfred"  for  a  period  of  nine  months,  and  in  October,  1777. 
returned  to  his  old  company  commanded  by  Col.  George  Peck. 
He  took  part  in  Spencer's  e.xpedition  to  the  island  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  in  August,  1778,  participated  in  Sullivan"s  e.xpedition 
and  the  battle  of  Rhode  Island. 

He  served  in  various  parts  of  Rhode  Island  with  the  militia  while 
the  British  was  in  possession  of  Newport  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged at  the  end  of  hostilities.  He  died  in  the  town  of  his 
birth,  September  27.  1S46.  For  this  account  of  his  service  and 
for  the  order  for  prize  money  I  am  indebted  to  Frank  A.  William- 
son, Esq.,  the  great  great  grandson  of  Nathaniel  Cooke. 


KSEK   HOPKINS 


1  I  I 


lords  jDroprictors,  in  ignorance  of  the  Span- 
ish raid,  arrived  in  New  Prov- 
idence, he  found  the  island 
without  an  inlKil)itant."  An 
excellent  harbor,  with  dee]) 
channels  sufficient  for  \e^sels 
drawing  twelve  feet  of  water, 
made  it  a  safe  refuge  in  a 
locality  full  of  coral  reefs  and 
numerous  islands.  Deserted 
and  abandoned  as  a  well  reg- 
ulated community,  it  soon 
becanie  the  resort  of  pirates, 
and  was  a  common  rendez- 
vous for  these  buccaneers 
and  ocean  highwaymen,  "the 
notorious  Blackbeard  being 
chief  amonQT  the  number." 

The  depredations  of  these 
\illainous  crews  were  reported 
time   after    time    to   the   mer- 
chants of   London   and    Hris- 
srv  GLASS  tol,  till  at  last,  driven  desper- 

ate by  their  losses,  they  united  in  a  petition 
to  the  crown  to  again  take  possession  of 
the  island  and  restore  order.  In  compliance 
with  this  petition.  Captain  Woodes  Rogers 
was   deputized  as  the   first  crown  governor, 


1  12 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


and  sailed  for  the  island  where  he  arrived 
during  the  year  1718.  Captain  Rogers  was 
a  man  well  fitted  for  the  position  ;  while  he 
cannot  be  classed  as  a  pirate  himself,  he  had 
sailed  for  years  as  master  of  various  priva- 
teers, and  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne 
his  exploits  are  calculated  to  suggest  piracy 
more  than  anvthino;  else.  He  was  a  man  of 
CTreat  force,  and  accustomed  to  rule  with  des- 
potic  sway.  During  one  of  his  cruises  he 
rescued  Alexander  Selkirk,  a  Scotchman, 
whom  he  found  on  the  island  of  Juan  Fer- 
nandez, where  he  had  lived  alone  for  four 
years  and  four  months.  Captain  Rogers 
speedily  brought  about  a  better  condition 
of  affairs.  Many  good  families  settled  on 
the  island,  and  it  entered  upon  an  era  of  pros- 
perity. Nassau  was  the  government  seat,  sit- 
uated on  the  northern  coast  along  the  slope 
of  a  orentle  hill  facino^  a  land  locked  harbor, 
and  was  protected  by  two  forts,  Fort  Nassau 
at  the  west,  and  F'ort  Montaorue  at  the  east. 
A  dangerous  bar  lay  off  the  entrance  to  the 
harbor  from  the  sea,  while  the  two  approaches 
by  the  inside  courses  from  the  eastward  and 
the  westward  were  amply  protected  by  these 
forts. 

Hopkins  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 


ESEK   I/OJ'A'/.YS 


I  I 


neighborhood.  Nearly  twenty  years  before 
he  had  been  reported  at  New  Providence 
cleaning  his  vessel,  and,  undoubtedlw  he  had 
sailed  in  and  out  between  the  islands  time 
and  time  again. 

The  fleet  arrived  at  Abacco  on  the  first  of 
March,  and  on  Saturday  evening  the  second 
day  of  March,  two  lunidred  marines,  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Samuel  Nicholas, 
and  fifty  sailors,  under  the  command  of  Lieu- 
tenant Thomas  Weaver,  of  the  ''Cabotr  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  island,  were 
embarked  on  some  small  vessels  that  had 
been  captured.  The  men  on  board  were  or- 
dered to  keep  below  deck  until  the  boats  got 
in  close  to  the  island,  it  being  Hopkins'  in- 
tention that  they  should  land  instantly  and 
take  possession  by  an  assault  from  the  rear, 
before  the  inhabitants  could  be  alarmed. 
This,  however,  was  rendered  abortive,  as  the 
forts  fired  an  alarm  on  the  approach  of  the 
fleet,  l^he  boats  then  ran  in  and  anchored 
at  a  small  key  three  leagues  to  windward  of 
the  town  of  Nassau,  and  from  thence  Hop- 
kins dispatched  the  marines,  with  the  sloop 
''Providence''  and  the  schooner  "  Wasp  "  to 
cover  their  landing. 

On   Sunday   morning,    March  3,  1776,  the 


J  J  ,  ESEK  HOPKINS 

whole  force  landed  at  the  east  end  of  the 
island  and  moved  upon  the  smaller  fort,  Fort 
Montague,  situated  halfway  between  the  place 
of  landing  and  the  town  of  Nassau.  Only 
a  slight  resistance  was  made  by  the  force 
within  the  fort,  five  guns  being  fired  at  the 
attacking  party,  but  without  doing  any  dam- 
aee.  The  oarrison  then  withdrew  to  the 
larger  fort,  and  the  marines  and  sailors  took 
possession  of  the  abandoned  work,  where 
they  remained  and  rested  that  night.  That 
evening  Hopkins  received  word  that  about 
two  hundred  men  from  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town  formed  the  only  defence  of  the  other 
fort.  Fort  Nassau.  Desiring  to  accomplish 
his  object  without  bloodshed  or  loss  of  life, 
Hopkins  issued  the  following  manifesto: 

"  To  the  Gentlemen  Freeman  and  Inhabi- 
tants of  the  Island  of  New  Providence 

The  Reasons  of  my  landing  an  armed 
force  on  the  Island  is  in  Order  to  take  pos- 
session of  the  Powder  and  Warlike  stores 
belonging  to  the  Crown  and  if  I  am  not  op- 
posed in  putting  my  design  in  Execution  the 
Persons  and  Propert}^  of  the  Inhabitants 
shall  be  safe,  Neither  shall  they  be  suffered 
to  be  hurt  in  Case  they  make  no  resistance 


M 

Island  or N 

Shotvma    /A 

flKSTAMEKK 


■ 


Island  otNewProvidence 
flRSTA^MTFfiCMg'NAVAL'EXPEDITION 


r 


IlSEA'   I/O/'/k/XS  J  J  - 

Given  under  \^^\  hand  on  hoard  tlie  Ship 
'Alfred'  March  3rd  1776 

EsEK   Hopkins 

6V  in  Chief  ' 

The  next  morning  the  troops  marched 
upon  Fort  Nassau,  but  this  pacific  measure 
had  tiie  desired  effect,  for  a  messenger  ap- 
peared from  tlie  governor  and  told  Captain 
Nicholas  that  "the  western  garrison  (Fort 
Nassau)  was  read}^  for  his  reception  and  that 
he  might  march  his  force  in  as  soon  as  he 
pleased."  The  inhabitants  quietly  witlidrew 
from  the  fort,  leaving  the  governor,  Mont- 
ford  Brown,  as  its  only  occupant.  Hopkins 
then  dispatched  Captain  Nicholas  to  the 
o^overnor  with  an  order  demandingr  the  kevs 
to  the  fortress,  which  order  was  complied 
with,  and  the  troops  at  once  took  possession 
of  the  work  and  all  of  its  stores.' 

'  Letters  and  orders  of  tlie  C'ommander-in-Chief. 

'^  ''Inventory  of  Stores  <sfc  taken  at  New  Providenee  at  Fort 
Nassau 


March  3  1776 


71  Cannon  from  (}  to  32  Pounders 
15  Mortars  (Brass)  from  4  to  11   inches 
5337  Shells 


ii6 


ESEK   HOPKIXS 


A  rich  store  of  munition  of  war  rewarded 
the  expedition.  So  great  indeed  that  it  was 
found  impossible  to  convey  it  all  in  the  ves- 
sels of  the  lieet,  and  Hopkins  impressed  a 
large  sloop  called  the  "  Endeavor','  which  he 

9837  round  shot  &  165  chain  &  dble  Hd  do 
140  hand  grenades 
816  Fuzees  or  false  fires 
99  Spunges  Rammers  &  worms 
46  Copper  ladles 
407  Copper  Hoops  &  5  Copper  Powder  Measures 
220  Iron  Trucks  for  carriages 
3  Bells 
24  Casks  Powder 

A  quantity  of  match  rope 

2  dble  blocks  with  brass  sheaves 
I  scale  beam 

1  Hammer 

3  Tanned  Hides 

2  boxes  tallow  candles 

4  Bbls  flower  4  do  bread  4  do  Beef 
Part  of  a  cask  of  Spiritt 

1  Sun  diall  &  i  English  flagg 

Stores  taken  at  Fort  Montague 

March  3,  1776 
17  Cannon  from  9  to  36  pounders 
1240  Round  shott 
121  Shells 
81  Iron  Trucks  for  Carriages 
22  Copper  Hoops 

2  Copper  Powder  Measures 
I  Worm  I  Ladle 

Some  old  Iron  Copper  &  Lead  not  weighed." 

From  the  original  among  the    Hopkins   Papers    in  the    Rhode 
Island  Historical  Society.^ 


ESEK   HOPKINS  j  j  « 

found  in  the  harbor,  for  the  purpose,  promis- 
ing the  owners  to  send  it  iDack  and  pay  for 
its  use,  which  was  subsequently  done.  Two 
weeks  were  occupied  in  transferring  the  cap- 
tured property  to  the  vessels,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  seventeenth  that  the  fleet  got  un- 
der way  for  the  homeward  voyage.  In  the 
meantime,  the  " /^/i',"  which  had  disappeared 
the  second  day  out,  made  her  appearance,  and 
her  commander  reported  that  she  had  "got 
foul  of  the  'Hornet'  and  carried  away  the 
boom  and  head  of  her  mast."  In  her  dis- 
abled condition  the  "  Hornet''''  made  her  way 
to  South  Carolina,  where  she  safely  arrived. 
When  the  fleet  sailed  Hopkins  took  away  as 
prisoners  of  war,  the  governor  of  the  island, 
Montford  Brown,  the  lieutenant-governor, 
and  Mr.  Thomas  Arwin,  "  Counsellor  and 
Collector  of  his  Majesty's  Quit  Rents  in 
South  Carolina,"  and  "  Inspector  General  of 
his  Majesty's  Customs  for  North  America." 
Although  this  expedition  had  been  so  suc- 
cessful, yet  its  one  great  object  had,  in  a 
measure,  failed,  for  the  governor,  aroused  in 
his  suspicions  at  the  sight  of  so  many  for- 
midable vessels  approaching  the  island  had. 
on  the  night  before  the  troops  landed,  loaded 
one   hundred  and   fifty  casks  of  powder  into 


jjg  ESEK  HOPA'/.VS 

a  small  sloop  and  sent  her  away,  thus  secur- 
ing it  against  capture.  Taken  as  a  whole, 
however,  the  descent  on  New  Providence 
was  a  well  planned  and  a  successful  ex- 
ploit. 

Hopkins  sailed  from  the  Bahamas  on  the 
seventeenth'  of  March,  and  the  whole  fleet 
kept  in  company  with  the  exception  of  the 
"  Wasp''  which  soon  after  getting  to  sea 
parted  from  the  other  vessels. 

As  the  fleet  started  upon  its  homeward 
course  Hopkins  issued  the  following  order 
to  his  captains : 

"  Orders  given  the  several  captains  on  Sail- 
ing from  New  Providence  March  iS  1776 

Sir:  You  are  to  keep  company  with  the 
ship  I  am  in  if  possible — but  should  you  sep- 
arate by  accident  you  are  then  to  make  the 
best  of  your  way  to  Block  Island  Channel 
and  there  to  cruise  in  30  fathom  water  south 
from  Block  Island  six  days  in  order  to  join 
the  fleet.  If  they  do  not  join  you  in  that 
time  you  may  cruise  in  such  places  as  you 
think  will  most  annoy  the  Enemy,  or  go  in 
Port   as  vou   think  fit.     and  acquaint  me  by 

'  Letter  of  John  Paul  Jones  to  Joseph  Hewes.     Hopkins  Papers, 
vol.  4,  note  10. 


ESEK    //OJ'A'/.VS  J  J  g 

the    first   Opportunity   so   tliat   you  may    re- 
ceive further  orders 

Ship'^//ny/'  March  i8  1776"  ' 
Lieutenant  Elisha  Hinnian,  of  the  "  Cabot  ^.^ 
was  put  in  command  of  the  slooj)  "  En- 
deavor'' whicli  Hopkins  had  pressed  into 
service  to  assist  in  the  removal  of  the  stores 
from  the  forts,  and  he  was  ordered  to  keep 
company  with  the  fleet;  in  tlie  event  of  his 
parting  compan)',  however,  lie  was  directed 
to  use  his  "best  endeavors  to  get  into  Provi- 
dence" ( R.  I.)  "if  you  cant  get  in  there," 
continued  the  order,  "you  are  to  go  in  the 
East  side  of  Rhode  Island,  Howlands  P^rry 
under  the  Fort,  or  into  New  London  and 
whenever  you  get  into  port  you  are  to  Land 
your  guns  and  stores  and  send  to  Governor 
Nicholas  Cooke  at  Providence,  or  Governor 
Trumbull  for  further  orders  'till  you  hear  from 
me."  The  material  secured  was  of  inestima- 
ble value  to  the  colonies  and  came  at  a  time 
when  all  such  munitions  were  sorely  needed. 
But  the  stores  secured  at  Nassau  were  not 
the  onh'  frm'ts  of  this  cruise.  Nothing  oc- 
curred to  enliveii  the  voyage  homeward  until 


'  ■■  Orders  and    Letters  of  the  Commainler-in-Chief  "  in  Khode 
Island  Historical  Societw 


I  20 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


the  fourth  of  April,  when  the  squadron,  then 
being  near  the  east  end  of  Long  Island, 
overhauled  the  schooner  ''Haiuk^'  of  the 
British  fleet,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Wal- 
lace, a  son  of  James  Wallace,  commanding 
the  fleet  at  Newport,  with  whom  Hopkins 
had  already  had  some  experience.  This 
vessel  carried  six  carrias^e  o-uns  and  eio'ht 
swivels,  and  fell  an  easy  prey  to  her  more  for- 
midable adversary.  The  next  day  "  a  Bomb 
brio;  the  'Bolton^  of  eio-ht  ornns  and  two 
howitzers  ten  swivels  and  forty  eight  men 
well  found  wath  all  sorts  of  stores,  arms,  pow- 
der etc."  was  captured,  all  of  which  highly 
elated  the  commander  and  all  the  officers  and 
men  in  the  fleet.  All  this  had  been  accom- 
plished without  the  loss  of  a  single  man  in 
action.  The  next  morning,  the  sixth  of 
April,  about  one  o'clock,  the  fleet  fell  in  with 
His  Majesty's  ship,  the  ''Glas(^ocu''  a  heavily 
armed  vessel  of  twenty  guns,  with  a  comple- 
ment of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  A  ten- 
der also  accompanied  her.  By  half  past  two, 
the  '' Cabot r  Captain  John  B.  Hopkins,  had 
come  so  near  that  he  hailed  her,  and  upon 
ascertaining  who  she  was  immediately  fired 
a  broadside;  and  now,  in  the  gloom  of  early 
morning,  a  desperate  encounter  took  place. 


ESEK  IIOPKIXS 


I  2  I 


The  heavy  guns  of  tlic  ''Glas^oiv "  played 
upon  the  "'Cabor'  witli  such  effect  that  she 
was  so  damaged  in  her  hull  and  rigging  as 
to  be  ol)liged  to  retire  for  a  time  from  action; 
besides,  her  commander  and  seven  men  liad 
been  severely  wounded,  and  four  of  her  crew 
killed  outright.' 

I  lopkiiis"  own  ship,  the  'V7///'<:y/,"  now  came 
into  action,  and  for  three  hours  the  fight 
was  most  severe.  While  the  ''Alfi'cd'^  was 
hotly  engaged,  the  "'Coluinhns''  Captain 
Abraham  Whipple,  ran  under  the  stern  of 
the  '"Glasgow  "  and  raked  her  as  she  passed; 


'  A    list    of    the    Kill'd   cV    Wounded   on    board    the    Brij^antine 
'''Cabot "  \"izt 

A/rr//  G,  17;iJ 

KlI.I.'l) 

No  I     James  Hoard  Wilson       Lieutenant  of  Marines 

"  2     C'harles  Sinclair  Seymour      Master 

"  3      Patrick  Kaine         i 
..         ,,  ,.  ,      ,-     Marines 

4     Oeorge  Kennedy  ) 

worNDKD 

No  I  John  I').   Hopkins  Esq     Capt 

"  2  David  Evans     Landsman 

"  3  CJeorge  Britt     Seaman 

"  4  James  Trowden      '\ 

''  5     Thomas  Doyle        [ 

i.  /;     fu  ■  ^-        f  r    Marines 

6     Christian   Cjosner 


'■  7     John  Curtis 

From  theorijjinal  among  the  Hopkins  Papers  in  liie  l\hode  Island 
Historical  Society. 


122 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


the  ''Andrea  Doria  "  sailed  into  position  on 
the  larboard  quarter  of  the  '' Glasgow'''  while 
the  ''Providence'''  Captain  Hazard,  changing 
her  course  occasionally,  sent  shot  after  shot 
against  the  British  ship.  Thus  the  ships 
fought  until  day  began  to  break,  when 
"  Captain  Tyringham  Howe,  of  the  'Glas- 
gow,' perceiving  the  force  of  the  American 
fleet,  seemingly  increased  by  a  large  ship 
and  a  snow^  which  kept  to  windward  as 
soon  as  the  action  bes^an,  and  discerninsf 
none  of  Capt.  Wallace's  fleet  to  afford  him 
the  prospect  of  support,  very  prudently  made 
all  the  sail  he  could  crowd  and  stood  in  for 
Newport."  "  The  bravery  of  Capt  Howe's 
behavior,"  naturally  says  Gordon,  an  emi- 
nent English  historian,  "is  to  be  commended. 
That  he  should  have  escaped  from  a  force  so 
much  superior  when  united,  does  not  giv^e 
satisfaction  to  the  Americans  and  is  imputed 
to  some  failure  in  conduct  or  courage  on  the 
side  of  their  commanders."  The  losses  on  the 
American  ships  were  not  great,  however,  the 
"  Cabot"  sustainins:  the  heaviest  loss,  while 
one  man  on  the  ''  Cohinibus"  lost  an  arm. 

Lieutenant  John  Paul  Jones  thus  de- 
scribes the  action  in  his  entry  for  the  day 
on  the  log  book  of  the  flag-ship  : 


ESEA'  IIOl'KINS 


I  2 


"  At  2  A.  M.  cleared  sliip  for  action. 
At  third  glass  tiie  enemy  bore  away,  and  by 
crowding  all  sail,  at  length  got  considerable 
way  ahead,  made  signals  for  the  rest  of  the 
Enorlish  fleet,  at  Rhode- Island,  to  come  to 
her  assistance,  and  steered  directly  for  the 
harbour.  The  Commodore  then  thought  it 
imprudent  to  risk  the  prizes,  &c.,  by  pursuing 
farther;  therefore,  to  prevent  our  being  de- 
coyed into  their  hands,  at  half-past  six  made 
the  signal  to  leave  off  the  chase,  and  haul  by 
the  wind  to  join  our  prizes.  The  'Cabot' 
was  disabled  at  the  second  broadside,  the 
Captain  being  dangerously  wounded,  the 
Master  and  several  men  killed.  The  enemy's 
whole  fire  was  then  directed  at  us  and  an 
unlucky  shot  having  carried  away  our  wheel 
block  and  ropes,  the  ship  broached  to,  and 
gave  the  enemy  an  opportunity  to  rake  us 
with  several  broadsides,  before  we  were 
again  in  condition  to  steer  the  ship  and 
return  the  fire.  In  the  action  we  received 
several  shot  under  water,  which  made  the 
ship  very  leaky;  we  had,  besides,  the  main- 
mast shot  through,  and  the  upper  works  antl 
rigging  very  considerably  damaged;  yet  it  is 
surprising  that  we  lost  only  the  Second 
Lieutenant   of    Marines    and  four   men — we 


j^_,  ESEK  }I0PK1NS 

had  no  more  than  three  men  dangerously, 
and  four  sh'ghtly,  wounded."  Hopkins,  in 
his  report  of  the  action  to  the  president  of 
Congress,  says:  "We  received  considerable 
damage  in  our  ship  but  the  greatest  was  in 
having  our  wheel  rope  and  blocks  shot  away 
which  oave  the  'Glasoozv'  time  to  make  sail. 
I  did  not  think  proper  to  follow  as  it  would 
have  brought  on  an  action  with  the  whole  of 
their  fleet  and  as  I  had  upwards  of  thirty  of 
our  best  seamen  on  board  the  prizes  and 
some  that  were  on  board  had  got  too  much 
liquor  out  of  the  prizes,  to  be  fit  for  duty, 
thought  it  most  prudent  to  give  over  chase 
and  secure  our  prizes  and  got  nothing  but 
the '6^ /rt'j-<^6'Z(yV  tender.  *  *  *  Amono- the 
dead  are  Mr.  Sinclair  Seymour  Master  of 
the  'Cabot'  a  good  ofificer,  Lieutenant  Wilson 
of  the  'Cabot'  and  Lieutenant  Fitzpatrick  of 
the  '•Alfred'  The  officers  all  behaved  well 
on  board  the  'Alfred',  but  too  much  praise 
cannot  be  given  to  the  ofificers  of  the  'Cabot' 
who  gave  and  sustained  the  whole  fire  for 
some  considerable  time  within  pistol  shot'." 

The  use  of  lic{uor  on  ship  board  always 
annoyed  Hopkins.  The  rules  of  the  service 
permitted  it  to  be  served  as  a  ration,  and 
Hoj^kins  was  therefore  powerless  to  interrupt 


its  use  as  such.  Years  before  this,  wliile 
in  the  merchant  service,  he  had  realized 
its  demorali/inL;'  effect  on  his  men,  and 
while  it  was  the  universal  custom  to  serve 
"  grog  "  on  sliip  board  at  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  the  rules  of  the  sea  forced  him 
also  to  comply  with  the  custom,  yet  it  is 
said  during  his  long  life  at  sea  and  ashore 
"he  totally  abstained  from  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquor  as  a  beverage." 

Hopkins  arrix'ed  in  New  London  harbor  oi^. 
the  eighth  of  April,  bringing  in  his  entire  fieet, 
with  the  exception  of  the  prize  ""Ilawkr  He 
at  once  prepared  a  full  report  of  his  cruise  to 
Congress  and  dispatched  it  b\'  John  Avery, 
Jr.,  special  express.  On  April  i6  this  report 
was  laid  before  Congress,  where  it  occasioned 
a  feeling  of  joyous  satisfaction. 

The  secretary  of  Congress  was  directed 
to  publish  a  part  of  it  so  that  the  colonies 
mio^ht  be  informed  of  the  success  of  the 
enterprise  and  the  worth  of  the  new  navy. 
John  Hancock,  President  of  Congress,  on 
the  next  day  sent  his  personal  congratula- 
tions, together  with  certain  directions  of 
Congress,  in  the  following;  letter: 


J  ^5  KSEK  HOPKINS 

"Philada  April    17    1776 

Sir 

Your  letter  of  the  9th  of  March,'  with 
the  enclosure,  was  duly  received  and  laid 
before  Congress;  in  whose  Name  I  beg 
leave  to  congratulate  you  on  the  Success 
of  your  Expedition,  your  Account  of  the 
Spirit  and  Bravery  shown  by  the  Men, 
affords  them  the  greatest  satisfaction  ;  and 
encourages  them  to  expect  similar  Exer- 
tions and  Courage  on  every  future  Occasion. 
Though  it  is  to  be  regretted,  that  the  '  Glas- 
cow '  Man  of  War  made  her  Escape,  yet  as 
it  was  not  thro  any  Misconduct,  the  Praise 
clue  to  you  and  the  other  officers  is  undoubt- 
edly the  same. 

I  have  it  in  charge  from  Congress  to 
direct,  that  you  send  a  compleat  List  and 
State  of  the  Stores  taken  and  brought  from 
Providence  with  the  sizes  &c  and  that  the 
Cannon  and  such  other  of  the  Stores  as  are 
not  necessary  for  the  Fleet  be  landed  and 
left  at  New  London. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  An- 
tiguas,  I  hope  will  be  of  Service  to  you,  with 
that  view  I  send  it 

'  This  is  evidently  an  error  and  should  be  April. 


ESEK   //OJ'A'/XS  ,  »„ 

*  -  / 

'Antigua  March  26  1776.  The  Third 
Division  of  Transports  will  leave  /Vnti^ua 
in  a  few  clays,  it  is  said  for  New  York,  under 
convoy  of  an  old  l^ast  India  Ship,  niounlinf 
16  guns.      There  will  be  six  in  Number.' 

Wishing  you  the  greatest  success  and 
happiness   I  am 

Sir 
Your  most  obed  &  very  hble  Scrv 

John   Hancock,  Presdt. 
Commodore  HojDkins  at  New  London.'" 

The  news  of  Hopkins'  success  at  the 
Bahamas  and  his  captures  on  the  return 
voyage,  together  with  the  bravery  displayed 
by  his  fleet  in  the  encounter  with  a  man-of 
war,  was.  received  with  deliglit  throughout 
the  colonies. 

A  contemporar}^  poet  commemorated  in 
verse  this  triumph  of  Hopkins.  Neptune  is 
represented  as  being  greatly  disturbed  by 
this  affair  while  he  lay 

'  In  dalliance  soft  and  anxious  play,' 

with   his  favorite  goddess,  and  directing  the 
winds    to   go    forth    and    make    known    who 

'  Hopkins  Papers. 


J  28  ESEK  HOPKINS 

dared  to  shake  his  coral  throne  and  fill  his 
realm  with  smoke. 

The  winds  obeyed,  and,  having  witnessed 
a  battle, 

Amazed  they  fly  and  tell  their  Chief 
'  That  How  is  ruined  past  relief, 

And  Hopkins  conquering  rode. 
'  Hopkins!  '  said  Neptune,  '  who  is  he 
That  dares  usurp  this  power  at  sea, 

And  thus  insult  a  God  ?' 
The  Winds  reply:      '  In  distant  Land 
A  Congress  sits  whose  martial  Bands 

Defy  all  Britain's  force, 
And  when  their  floating  castles  Roll 
From  sea  to  sea  from  Pole  to  Pole 

Hopkins  directs  their  course. 
And  when  their  Winged  Bullets  fly 
To  reenstate  their  Liberty 

Or  scouge  oppressive  Bands, 
Then  Gallant  Hopkins,  calmly  Great, 
Tho'  Death  and  Carnage  round  him  wait 

Performs  their  dread  commands.' 

The  result  being  that  Neptune,  in  amaze- 
ment, resigns  his  trident  and  crown  to  Con- 
gress, and  says,  as 

'A  tribute  due  to  such  renown, 
These  Gods  shall  rule  for  me.'"  ' 

Hopkins'  name  was  on  the  lips  of  all,  and 
all  sang  his  praises,  but  as  the  first  burst  of 

'  "Our  I'Vench  .Allies."  ."-itone,  page  II. 


ESEK   llOI'Kl.XS  [  TQ 

enthusiasm  and  elation  began  to  fade  away 
a  change  took  place,  and  all  that  he  had 
accomplished  was  lost  sight  of  when  the 
fact  was  fully  l)roug]it  to  niind  that  he  had 
allowed  the  '"Glasgoiu^''  to  escape.  So  in- 
tense was  the  feeling  against  him  on  this 
account  that  prejudice  took  possession  of  the 
minds  of  the  people,  and  no  amount  of  argu- 
ment could  brush  away  the  feelino;  that  he  had 
failed  at  the  supreme  moment.  From  this 
time  a  dark  cloud  be^an  to  o-ather  oyer  the 

o  o 

head  of  Hopkins  which  was  destined  to 
gradually  settle  down  oyer  him  and  obscure 
a  reputation  hitherto  unblemished.  Cap- 
tain Whipple,  of  the  ''Columbus''  had  been 
severely  criticised  by  several  of  his  brother 
officers  in  the  fleet  for  his  conduct  in  the 
fight  with  the  ''Glasgow^'  and,  in  order  to 
have  his  acts  inquired  into,  he  demanded  a 
court  martial  in  a  letter  which  he  sent  to 
Hopkins  on  the  thirtieth  of  x4.pril.  In  this 
letter  he  details,  at  some  length,  the  manoeu- 
vers  of  the  ships  on  that  memorable  morn- 
ing, and  orives  a  more  detailed  account  of 
the  part  he  took  in  the  fight.     He  says; 

"  I   have  had   the   Honor  to  serve  you   in 
the  last  F'rench  War  and  to  your  satisfaction 


I  -,o 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


I  thought,  and  since  my  Arrival  at  Philadel- 
phia was  appointed  by  the  Congress  to  the 
Command  of  the  Ship  'Cohtmbiis',  I  have 
strictly  obeyed  your  Commands  and  have 
done  all  in  my  Power  for  the  Honor  of  the 
Fleet  to  the  best  of  my  Knowledge  accord- 
ing to  your  Orders.  The  Night  that  we 
fell  in  with  the  'Glasgoiv'  Man  of  War,  two 
of  my  Lieutenants  was  on  board  of  the  two 
Prizes  and  fourteen  of  the  best  Seamen, 
when  we  was  running  down  on  the  ship 
getting  in  order  to  Engage  and  Quartering 
the  Men  in  the  places  of  the  others  that  was 
out,  the  'Glasgow'  suddenly  hauling  to  the 
Northward  brought  me  to  the  Southward 
of  her  and  brought  her  right  into  your  and 
Capta,  Hopkins  Wake,  I  hauled  up  for  her 
and  made  all  Sail  with  my  three  Top  Gal- 
lant Sails,  then  Captain  Hopkins  beginning 
the  Fire  and  the  'Glasgozu'  returning  the 
same  and  my  being  in  her  Wake  and  as  far 
to  Leeward  as  she  it  Instantly  kill'd  all  the 
Wind  which  put  it  out  of  my  Power  to  get 
up  with  her  I  strove  all  in  my  Power  but  in 
vain,  before  that  I  had  got  close  enough 
for  a  Close  Engagement  the  'Glasgozu''  had 
made  all  Sail  for  the  Harbour  of  Newport 
I  continued  Chace  under  all  Sail  that  I  had 


KSEK  IIOPKIXS  ,  -,  , 

except  Steering  Sails  and  the  Wind  l^eing 
before  the  Beam  she  firing  her  two  Stern 
Chaces  into  nie  as  fast  as  possible  and  my 
keeping  np  a  Fire  with  my  Bow  (Juns  and 
now  and  then  a  Broadside  put  it  out  of  my 
Power  to  get  near  enough  to  have  a  close 
Engagement,  I  continued  this  Chace  while 
you  thought  proper  to  hoist  a  Signal  to 
return  into  the  Meet  I  accordingly  Obeyed 
the  Signal  and  at  our  Arrival  at  New 
London  I  found  that  the  report  was  from 
the  'Alfred'  and  the  'Cabot'  that  I  was  a 
Coward  and  many  other  ill  natured  things 
which  I  say  was  a  false  report,  if  I  did  not 
do  my  Duty  it  was  not  out  of  Cowardice  but 
for  want  of  Judgement,  I  say  all  the  People 
at  New  London  look  on  me  with  Contempt, 
and  here,  like  a  Man  not  serving  the  Coun- 
try in  my  Station.  Therefore  I  having  a 
Family  of  Children  to  be  upbraided  with 
the  mark  of  Cowardice  and  my  own  Charac- 
ter now  Scandalized  thro'  the  whole  Thir- 
teen United  Colonies.  It  is  a  thing  I 
cannot  bear  and  if  I  am  a  Coward  I  have 
no  Business  in  the  service  of  this  Country. 
Therefore  I  desire  that  there  may,  by  my 
own  Request  a  Court  Martial  be  called  on 
me,  and  Tried  by  my  Brother  Ofiicers  of  the 


I  -,  2  ESP:K   HOPKINS 

Fleet  and  either  acquitted  with  Honor  or 
Broke  for  I  want  no  favour,  then  if  I  am 
Broke  the  Publick  will  have  a  right  to  de- 
spise me  and  reflect  on  me  and  my  Family, 
If  I  have  no  satisfaction  that  way  I  will 
return  you  my  Commission  and  thank  the 
Congress  for  the  Service  and  Curse  them 
that  made  the  false  Report,  I  have  never 
opened  my  Mouth  to  any  Body  concerning 
the  matter,  if  your  Honor  had  let  me  come 
to  Newport  when  the  'Scarborough'  Man 
of  War  lay  there  as  I  desired  I  would  have 
convinced  the  World  that  I  was  not  a  Coward 
but  now  it  is  out  of  my  Power. 

Your  Humble  Servant 

at  Command 

Abraham   Whipple. 

N.  B.  Sir,  you  must  observe  it  was  in  the 
Night  when  we  bore  down  upon  the  '  Glas- 
gozv ',  and  could  not  see  as  if  it  had  been 
Day  light  when  she  altered  her  Course 

A   Whipple 
Pursuant  to   his    request   a    court   martial 


'  Since  I  made  my  copy  of  this  letter  from  the  original  in  the 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  some  miscreant  has  mutilated 
it  by  cutting  out  the  postscript  and  signature.     (Author.) 


A'.SV-.A'   NOPh'lXS  .  ,  ^ 


was  held  on  board  the  ''Alfred',''  at  Provi- 
dence, on  the  sixtli  of  May,  and  lie  was 
promptly  acquitted   of   any  misconduct. 

Captain  I  la/ard,  of  the  '^Providence,"'  was 
also  the  subject  of  a  court  martial  for  mis- 
conduct during  the  engagement  with  the 
''Glasgow''  which  resulted  in  his  being 
relieved  of  Jiis  command,  and  Lieutenant 
John  Paul  Jones  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  in  New  London 
harbor,  Hopkins  proceeded  to  dispose  of  the 
material  which  he  had  secured  at  the  IJaha- 
mas.  Some  of  the  captured  guns  were  left 
at  New  London,  in  charo-e  of  Governor 
Trumbull,  a  number  were  sent  by  Captain 
Jennings  to  Dartmouth,  Mass.,  and  the 
"Cabot"  carried  twenty-six  to  New^port  to  be 
used  in  the  defence  of  the  island.  This 
action  of  Hopkins  provoked  much  criticism 
from  the  authorities  at  Philadelphia,  and 
was  one  of  the  contributing  causes  of  the 
troubles  which  later  beset  him.  In  a  letter 
to  John  Hancock,  President  <»f  the  Marine 
Committee,  he  seems  to  have  had  a  forebod- 
ing of  impending  trouble,  for  he  says:  "  In- 
closed you  have  a  copy  of  Capt  Whipples 
request  to  me  which  suppose  I  shall  grant 
and  expect  that  may  bring   on   some   more 


T  -,  ,  ESEK  HOPKINS 

Enquiries  but  do  not  expect  anything  wliich 
may  now  be  done  will  mend  what  is  past." 

Soon  after  the  fleet  arrived  in  New  London 
Hopkins  was  visited  aboard  his  ship  by  Gen- 
eral Henry  Knox,  who,  in  a  letter  to  his  \yife,' 
makes  some  allusion  to  the  personal  appear- 
ance and  characteristics  of  the  commodore. 
In  this  letter  he  says:  "I  have  been  on 
board  Admiral  Hopkins'  ship  and  in  com- 
pany with  his  gallant  son,  who  was  wounded 
in  the  enQfagrement  with  the  'Glase'ow.'  The 
admiral  is  an  antiquated  figure.  He  brought 
to  my  mind  Van  Tromp,  the  famous  Dutch 
admiral.  Though  antiquated  in  figure  he  is 
shrewd  and  sensible.  I,  whom  you  think 
not  a  little  enthusiastic,  should  have  taken 
him  for  an  ano-el  onlv  he  swore  now  and 
then."  Brief  as  the  description  is  it  conveys 
much  information  regarding  Hopkins'  per- 
sonality. 

A  most  deplorable  condition  existed  on 
board  the  fleet  on  account  of  sickness.  The 
sick  men  were  at  once  sent  ashore  and  placed 
in  temporary  hospitals,  seventy-two  being  sent 
from  the  ''Alfred''  thirty-four  from  the 
''Coiumdits,''    fifty-eight    from    the    ''Andrea 

'  Drake's  Life  of  Knox. 


ESEK    I/OPA'/.VS  .  ^  - 

Doi'ia','  seventeen  from  the  "'Cabor,'  sixteen 
from  the  ''Providence''  and  five  from  the 
'' Fly^'  a  total  of  202. 

Hopkins  secured  one  hundred  and  seventy 
men  .from  the  army,  through  the  direction  of 
General  Washington,  to  replace  those  he  had 
landed  sick,  and  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  April 
the  fleet  sailed  from  New  London  for  Rliocle 
Island.  On  the  way  down  the  coast  llic 
''Alfred''  got  ashore  on  Fisher's  Island  and 
had  to  be  lio^htened  before  she  could  be  fj^ot 
off;  with  this  delay  Hopkins  arrived  at  Provi- 
dence before  the  twenty-eighth,  where  he  im- 
mediately proceeded  to  provision  his  ships 
and  put  them  in  condition  for  a  three  or  four 
months'  cruise.  While  thus  engaged  he 
received  a  peremptory  order  from  General 
Washington  to  send  the  men,  who  had  just 
been  assigned  to  the  navy,  to  New  York. 
A  discouraging  and  disheartening  situation 
confronted  him.  Upon  his  arrival  in  Pro\-i- 
dence  upwards  of  a  liundred  men  in  the 
fleet  were  found  sick  and  unfit  for  duty  who 
had  to  be  landed,  and  Hopkins  says  :  "there 
is  daily  more  taken  down  with  some  New- 
Malignant  fever."  Besides  this,  in  return 
for  the  twenty-six  heavy  guns  which  he  had 
brought  to  the  defence  of  Newport,  Hopkins 


J  -,5  ESEK  HOPKINS 

expected  to  receive  authority  to  enlist  men 
from  the  troops  there  located,  but  almost  at 
the  same  time  the  demand  had  been  made 
for  the  return  of  the  men  from  the  army  a 
demand  had  also  been  made  that  twenty  of 
the  cannon  be  immediately  sent  to  Philadel- 
phia. Under  these  circumstances  "modesty 
forbade  his  asking  for  men,"  and  he  writes : 
"  If  I  do  I  am  in  doubt  whether  it  would  be 
granted.'  On  the  twelfth  of  May  Hopkins 
dispatched  the  sloop  '^ Providence''  Captain 
John  Paul  Jones,  for  New  York,  to  take 
back  the  men  he  had  secured  from  the 
army. 

Trouble  soon  broke  out  in  the  fleet  over 
the  neglect  or  inability  of  the  authorities  to 
pay  the  wages  of  the  crews. 

All  the  enlisted  men  at  least  had  acquitted 
themselves  with  honor,  and  now  that  the 
cruise  was  over  thev  were  clamorino-  for 
their  pay  and  naturally  becoming  more  and 
more  impatient  as  day  after  day  went  by  with- 
out receivinfj  it.  This  o"rievance  of  the  men 
on  the  ''Cabot','  was  made  known  to  Hopkins 
bv  a  round  robin  in  the  follow! no-  words  and 

J  O 

signed   by  probably  most  of  the  sailors  and 
marines  : 


From  the  original  in  Rhoiie  Island  fliitorical  Society's  collection  0/ portraits,  page  <^. 
Portrait  Plate  3. 


ESEK   //O/'E/XS 

0/ 


1  ; 


"  7\)   l/ic   J/oii''''  Esck   Hopkins   Esqr 

The  Humble  Petition  of  the  Coni()any 
of  they  Sailors  and  Ahirines  on  Hoard  the 
Hrig-g  'Cabot"  Most  Humbly  Showeth. 

That  your  petitioners  having  served  faith- 
fully on  board  the  said  Brig  in  defence 
of  America  Since  her  departure  from  Phila- 
delphia; and  her  first  Cruise  being  now  out 
They  humbly  hoj)e  that  your  Hon'  (Accord- 
ing to  the  usual  Custom  observed  on  Board 
Vessels  of  War)  will  advance  them  some 
money  as  they  are  much  in  want  of  neces- 
saries which  they  cannot  proceed  on  another 
cruise  without  They  humbly  hope  that  your 
Honor  will  pardon  this  Liberty,  and  impute 
it  to  the  real  necessity  which  they  now 
Labour  under  for  the  want  of  Cash  to  pro- 
cure them  what's  necessary  for  their  Health 
&  preservation,  and  your  petitioners  as  in 
Duly  Bound  will  ever  Pray 

Please  to  turn  over  where  you'll  see  they 
Subscribers  Names  are  set  down,"  and  on 
the  backside  of  this  petition  the  following 
names  were  written  in  a  circle  : 

"  Christian  Gosner,  Thomas  (}adsly, 

Thomas  Forbes,  James  Wilkeson, 

William  Osborn,  John  Coates, 

John  Stirlin,  Anthony  Dwyer, 


J  oS  ESEK  HOPKINS 

Peter  Cashinberg,  James  Bowman, 

Matthew  McTee,  Rudolph  Ecling, 

Andrew  Magee,  Joseph  Antonio, 

James  McSorley,  John  Roatch, 

Thos  Darby,  John  Patrick, 

Michael  Third,  Alexander  Baptist, 

Abel  Jons  John  Little, 

Robert  Mills,  John  King, 

James  Hall,  Thomas  Charles, 

Joseph  Wayn,  John  Bowles, 

Benjamin  Ford,  Michael  Thorp, 

Richard  Sweeney,  James  Russell, 

Thomas  Clark,  John  Young, 

Robert  Halladay,  John  Curtis, 

Charles  Hamet,  William  Thompson, 

Jacob  Pony,  Alexander  Lowry, 

Jacob  Maag,  AVilliam  Small, 

Joseph  Ravencroft,  Thomas  Clarke  Senr, 
Thomas  Goldthwaite,         Christopher  Reiney, 

John  Harman,  Lewis  Reding, 

John  Hall,  Robert  McFarling, 

George  McKenny,  John  Connor, 
Thomas  Dowd, 

We  They  subscribers,  impatiently  await 
your  Honor's  answer." 

Sickness  and  neglect  were  laying  the 
foundation  for  much  trouble  to  the  com- 
mander. 

Only  two  vessels,  the  ''Doria  "  and  ''Cabot','' 
were  sufficiently  manned  to  go  into  service, 
and  both   these,  on   the   nineteenth  of  May, 


ESF.K  IIOPKIXS  ,  ^r. 

sailed  out  of  Narraoansett  Bay  on  a  short 
cruise.  The  ''Alfred''  was  disabled  and 
unfit  to  go  to  sea,  "she  is  tender  sided 
and  the  most  unfit  vessel  in  the  whole  fleet 
for  service  and  her  main  mast  has  a  gib 
shot  through  it,"  wrote  Hopkins.  The 
''ColiLinbus'"  and  the  other  vessels  were 
short  handed  by  reason  of  sickness  and 
the  heavy  drafts  made  to  man  those  already 
at  sea.  The  fieet,  as  a  whole,  was  there- 
fore practically  useless.  The  hands  of 
the  commander  were  tied ;  he  had  little 
authority ;  there  were  other  causes,  too, 
operating  against  him  over  which  he  had  no 
control  and  which  will  later  appear.  It  was, 
therefore,  with  some  discouragement  that  he 
wrote  to  Congress:  "  I  am  ready  to  follow 
any  Instructions  that  you  give  at  all  times 
but  am  very  much  in  doubt  whether  it  will 
be  in  my  power  to  keep  the  fleet  together 
with  any  Credit  to  myself  or  the  officers 
that  belong  to  it — Neither  do  I  believe  it 
can  be  done  without  power  to  dismiss  such 
officers  as  I  find  slack  in  their  duty." 

Before  the  fleet  had  arrived  in  Narragan- 
sett  Bay  from  New  London  the  P)ritish 
fleet,  under  Wallace,  had  withdrawn  from 
Newport,   and    for   the   first    time    in    many 


J  iQ  ESEK  HOPKIXS 


years  the  waters  of  Rhode  Island  were  free 
from  British  war  vessels. 

It  was  about  this  time  '  that  Hopkins  was 
summoned  to  appear  before  the  Marine 
Committee'  to  answer  for  breach  of  orders. 
A  powerful  influence  was  working  against 
him;  whether  rightfully  or  wrongly  impelled 
future  events  will  disclose  ;  it  was  but  the 
beginning,  however,  of  a  long  chain  of 
troubles  and  disasters  which  rapidly  followed 
each  other,  and  from  which  Hopkins  never 
recovered. 


'  May  14. 

-  At  different  periods  the  committee  in  charge  of  naval  affairs 
was  known  as  the  Naval  Committee,  the  Marine  Committee,  and 
the  Board  of  Admiralty. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    CONGRESSIOXAI.    INQUIRY. 

ON  the  eighth  of  May,  1776,  there  was 
laid  before  Congress,  presumably  by  the 
Naval  Committee,  the  whole  subject  of  the 
operations  of  the  fleet  since  it  had  sailed 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Delaware  the  pre- 
vious February.  It  took  the  form,  however, 
as  the  Journal  of  Congress  describes  it,  of 
"  the  instructions  given  by  the  Naval  Com- 
mittee to  commodore  Hopkins." 

Ever  since  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  at  New 
London,  some  weeks  before,  Hopkins  had 
been  the  subject  of  much  fault  finding,  and 
prejudice  was  strongly  against  him.  The 
advantages  gained  by  the  seizure  of  so  many 
valuable  munitions  of  war  at  the  Bahamas 
did  not  counteract  the  dissatisfaction  that 
had  been  aroused  by  the  escape  of  the 
''Glasgow^ 

Already  there  had  developed  in  Congress 
a  spirit  that  was  destined  to  interrupt  that 
harmony  so  essential   to  the  success  of  the 


J  ,^  ESEK  IIOPKIXS 

cause  in  which  the  colonies  were  then  en- 
gaged. There  was  a  lack  of  unanimity 
between  the  three  factions  into  which  the 
colonies  naturally  found  themselves  divided. 

It  produced  jealousies,  developing  into 
political  intrigues,  and  had  a  tremendous 
deterrent  influence  in  every  thing  with 
which  Congress  had  to  do.  Sectional  pre- 
judices were  early  manifested  and  later  devel- 
oped alarming  conditions.  "  Politically  the 
men  of  Virginia,"  says  Fiske,  "had  thus  far 
acted  in  remarkable  harmony  with  tlie  men 
of  New  England,  but  socially  there  was  but 
little  fellowship  between  them.  In  those 
days  of  slow  travel  the  plantations  of  Vir- 
ginia were  much  more  remote  from  Boston 
than  they  now  are  from  London,  and  the 
generalizations  which  the  one  people  used 
to  make  about  the  other  were,  if  possible, 
even  more  crude  than  those  which  English- 
men and  Americans  are  apt  to  make  about 
each  other  at  the  present  day. 

To  the  stately  elegance  of  the  Virginia 
country  mansion  it  seemed  right  to  sneer 
at  New  Eno-land  merchants  and  farmers  as 
'  shopkeepers  '  and  '  peasants,'  while  many 
people  in  Boston  regarded  Virginian  planters 
as  mere  Squire  Westerns. 


ESEK  J/OJ'A'/.\'S  ,  ,  ^ 

Between  the  eastern  and  the  middle  states, 
too,  there  was  much  ill-will,  because  of  tlieo- 
logical  differences  and  boundan'  disputes. 

The  Puritan  of  New  Hampshire  had  not 
yet  made  up  his  quarrel  with  the  Churcli- 
man  of  New  York  concerning  the  ownership 
of  the  Green  Mountains;  and  the  wrath  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Quaker  waxed  hot  against 
the  Puritan  of  Connecticut  who  dared  claim 
jurisdiction  over  the  valley  of  Wyoming.  We 
shall  find  such  animosities  bearing  bitter 
fruit  in  personal  squabbles  among  soldiers 
and  officers,  as  well  as  in  removals  and  ap- 
pointments of  officers  for  reasons  which  had 
nothing  to  do  with  their  military  competence. 
Even  in  the  highest  ranks  of  the  army  and 
in  Congress  these  local  prejudices  played 
their  part  and  did  no  end  of  mischief."  ' 
This  anti  New  England  feeling  was  strong 
even  to  the  degree  of  bitterness  and  showed 
itself  in  many  measures  which  Congress  was 
called  upon  to  consider.  It  affected  this 
infant  navy  and  all  concerned  with  it  just  as 
it  affected  the  army.  Another  influence 
that  operated  against  Hopkins  had  its  origin 
in   one  of  the    acts  of  Congress  which   had 


The  American  Revolution,  Fiske,  Vol.  i,  page  244. 


J  ,,  ESEK  HOPKIXS 

been  passed  almost  at  the  same  time  a  navy 
had  been  projected.  This  was  the  author- 
ized fitting  out  of  privateers  to  prey  upon 
the  ships  of  tlie  enemy.  It  cannot  be 
charged  that  it  was  an  unwise  movement, 
for  "  without  the  succor  that  was  procured 
in  this  manner  the  Revolution  must  have 
been  checked  at  the  outset,''  says  Cooper, 
yet  the  influence  which  this  measure  pro- 
duced robbed  the  navy  of  much  of  its  effect- 
iveness. 

"  The  w^ages  paid  on  the  privateers  were 
from  one  half  to  twice  as  much  as  Congress 
permitted  to  be  paid  on  the  Government 
ships  which  only  gave  a  share  of  one  third 
in  all  prizes  taken  and  one  half  in  the  case 
of  armed  vessels  while  the  privateers  offered 
one  half  in  all  cases  and  occasionally  more 
when  there  was  extra  hazard." 

The  inducements  thus  offered  on  private 
ships  deprived  the  government  vessels  of  a 
class  of  seamen  most  desirable.  It  also 
opened  the  way  for  abuses  which  were 
carried  on  to  an  alarminor  extent;  for,  it 
was  not  uncommon  for  some  of  these  priva- 
teersmen  to  sell  their  shares  before  sailing, 
thereby  realizing  something  before  they  had 
actually   left    port,   and,  on    account    of    the 


KSEA'  //O/'A'/.VS  ,   ,  - 

greater  share  in  which  tliey  would  jjartic- 
ipate,  these  advancemenls  to  tlie  men  on 
private  war  vessels  were  correspondingly 
greater  than  to  the  crews  of  the  ""overnment 
ships.  Somelinies  sailors  on  the  govern- 
ment vessels  would  receive  their  ad\'ances, 
as  was  the  custom,  then  they  would  shij)  on 
a  privateer,  discount  their  prospective  share 
and  desert  to  another  section  to  repeat  the 
offence. 

Hopkins  exerted  all  his  energies  towards 
discouraging  these  privateering  expeditions, 
arousing  much  animosity  against  himself  by 
so  doing,  and  so  widespread  had  it  become 
that  he  was  ah-eady  beginning  to  feel  its  effect. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  December,  1775,  the 
committee  appointed  to  devise  ways  and 
means  for  fitting  out  a  navy  presented  a 
report  to  Congress,  recommending  that  five 
ships  of  32  guns,  five  of  28  guns,  and  three 
of  24  guns  be  fitted  for  sea;  an  appropria- 
tion was  made  and  a  committee  apjDointed 
to  carry  out  this  measure. 

By  this  resolve  of  Congress,  two  of  these 

ships  w^ere  to  be  built  in  Rhode  Island,  and 

work  was  begun  while    Hopkins   was  at  sea 

wqth    the    fleet;    they    were    yet    unfinished 

when  he  returned  from  his  cruise. 
10 


146 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


The  committee  of  Congress  under  whose 
directions  these  vessels  were  to  be  built,  ap- 
pointed a  sub-committee  to  have  the  imme- 
diate charge  of  building  the  two  Rhode  Island 
vessels,  and  its  members  were  selected  from 
among  the  most  prominent  and  influential 
merchants  and  ship  owners  in  Providence. 

No  more  representative  body  could  have 
been  found  among  the  men  of  Providence. 
Nicholas  Cooke,  the  governor  of  the  colony, 
a  man  of  wealth  and  influence ;  Nicholas 
I3rown,  the  leading  merchant  and  sliip  owner, 
wealthy  and  of  such  integrity  that  when  the 
town's  impoverished  treasury  necessitated 
the  constant  borrowing  of  money  from  the 
citizens  of  the  town,  one  who  was  asked  to 
loan  a  small  sum  on  a  town  note  said  "  no, 
but  I  will  loan  it  to  Nicholas  Brown;"  Joseph 
Russell,  of  the  firm  of  William  and  Joseph 
Russell,  merchants  and  ship  owners  ;  Joseph 
Brown  and  John  Brown,  brothers  of  Nicholas, 
and  business  partners;  Daniel  Tillinghast, 
another  merchant  and  ship  owner,  carrying 
on  a  large  and  successful  trade  with  the 
West  Indies,  and  later  Continental  agent  for 
the  state;  John  Innes  Clarke,  and  his  busi- 
ness partner,  Joseph  Nightingale,  also  mer- 
chants ;  Jabez  Bowen,  the  deputy  governor,  a 


man  of  heretofore  unquestioned  integrity ; 
Rufus  Hopkins,  a  son  of  Governor  Stej)hen 
Hopkins  "  who  IkuI  attained  a  liigh  rank 
as  a  nautical  commander,"  and  all  men  who 
had  served  the  colony  in  warious  important 
positions;  these  were  the  men  against  whom 
Hopkins  was  destined  to  be  arrayed  in  the 
performance  of  his  duty. 

Two  vessels,  named  the  "  IVanni  "  and 
the  ''Provide7ice''  were  built  under  the  direc- 
tion of  this  committee,  the  former  beins:  i  ^2 
feet  long,  the  latter  124  feet. 

After  Hopkins  returned  to  Rhode  Island 
from  his  southern  cruise,  he  devoted  much 
of  his  time  to  the  work  of  getting  these  ships, 
which  were  then  well  under  way,  ready  for 
sea.  He  frequently  sat  with  the  committee 
and  took  part  in  the  proceedings.  He  was 
thus  in  a  position  to  be  well  informed  as  to 
how  the  work  was  going  on. 

He  soon  ascertained  that  some  of  the 
members  of  this  committee  were  engaged 
ill  privateering  ventures  on  their  own  ac- 
count, and  were  using  their  position  and 
influence  to  further  their  own  private  ends. 
It  exasperated  him  greatly,  and  he  openly 
accused  them  of  malpractice.  Hopkins 
afterwards  asserted  that   the  "  two  vessels  on 


148 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


account  of  this  mismanagement,  cost  twice 
as  much  as  the  contract  price,  owing  to  some 
of  the  very  Committee  that  built  the  ships 
taking  the  workmen  and  the  stock  agreed  for 
off  to  fit  their  privateers,  and  even  threaten- 
ing the  workmen  if  they  did  not  work  for 
them." 

The  friendship  tliat  had  heretofore  existed 
between  the  Browns,  with  whom  he  had  been 
alhed  years  before  in  his  pohtical  battles,  and 
whose  vessels  he  had  commanded,  was  thus 
severed,  and  Hopkins  at  once  antagonized 
them  with  all  the  fierceness  of  his  nature. 
Such  a  disregard  for  the  public  weal  at  the 
very  outset  of  a  most  desperate  struggle  was 
disheartening,  and  it  touched  Hopkins  to  the 
quick.  Patriotism  seemed  to  have  burned 
out  and  selfish  motives  had  quenched  it. 

These  troubles  and  criminal  charges  "bore 
hard  on  the  character  of  the  committee  as 
merchants  and  as  gentlemen"  as  it  is  re- 
corded in  the  committee's  records,  and  they 
resented  such  imputations.  Finally  the  situa- 
tion of  affairs  came  to  the  ears  of  the  members 
of  the  Marine  Committee,  under  whose  direc- 
tion the  Rhode  Island  committee  was  working, 
and  a  sharp  letter  was  sent  to  the  latter  com- 
mittee on   May  twenty-first,   1776,   rebuking 


ESEK   HOPKINS  J  ,g 

them  tor  their  actions.  Iiidi^naiUly  they  re- 
sented the  charges,  threw  uj)  tlie  whole  man- 
agement of  the  work,  and  finally  turned  o\'er 
the  ships  to  Stephen  Hopkins,  then  a  delegate 
in  Congress.  This  affair  aroused  much  ani- 
mosity among  the  parties,  and  only  added 
fuel  to  the  flame  of  discontent  then  burning. 

These  two  ships  when  turned  over  to  the 
delegate  in  Congress  were  ready  for  sea  but 
without  crews. 

Petty  jealousies  had  grown  up  among  the 
ofificers  in  the  fleet.  While  some  of  them 
were  Rhode  Island  men  there  were  many 
from  the  other  colonies,  all  clamoring  for 
ofTficial  advancement,  and  exerting  all  their 
influence  to  attain  it.  So  strong  was  this 
that  Hopkins  strove  to  avoid  becoming 
entangled  in  its  attendant  controversies  by 
overlooking  certain  irregularities,  thereby 
weakening  himself  in  the  estimation  of  his 
friends  and  his  opponents.  It  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  evidence  of  a  weakness  in  his 
character.  "  I  am  very  sensible  that  every 
officer  has  his  friends  "  he  wrote  to  his  brother 
on  June  eighth,  "  and  that  has  so  much  weight 
with  me  as  not  to  order  a  Court  Martial, 
although  eyer  so  necessary  Init  when  the 
complaint  came  in  writing  and  that  from  the 


J  CQ  ESEK  HOPKINS 

principal  officers  of  the  fleet.  I  wish  to 
God,  and  for  the  good  of  my  country  that 
no  officer  in  the  fleet  depended  on  any  friend 
but  his  own  merit."  Abraham  Whipple  had 
already  been  severely  handled  for  his  con- 
duct with  the  "(7/<7^4'Y?7t;',"  and  had  demanded 
a  trial  by  Court  Martial.  Dudley  Salton- 
stall  had  pursued  such  a  course  in  the  treat- 
ment of  his  men  that  Kenneth  MacCloud, 
writing  to  Hopkins  for  an  assignment  to  one 
of  the  ships,  takes  occasion  to  interject  in  his 
letter  "  Captain  Saltonstall  I  will  not  sail  with  " 
while  John  Paul  Jones,  on  June  twentieth,  al- 
luded to  him,  in  a  letter,  as  the  "  ill  natured  and 
narrow  minded  Captain  Saltonstall."  An  in- 
sight into  the  spirit  which  pervaded  the  offi- 
cers of  the  fleet  may  be  obtained  by  the  state- 
ments in  a  letter  sent  by  John  Paul  Jones  to 
Joseph  Hewes,  for  he  says:  "  It  is  certainly 
for  the  interest  of  the  service  that  a  cordial 
interchange  of  civilities  should  subsist  be- 
tween superior  and  inferior  officers ;  and 
therefore,  it  is  bad  policy  in  superiors  to 
behave  towards  their  inferiors,  indiscrimin- 
ately, as  though  they  were  of  a  lower  species. 
Men  of  liberal  minds  who  have  been  long 
accustomed  to  command,  can  ill  brook  thus 
being  set  at  naught  by  others,  who  pretend 


ESEK   HOI'KIXS  ,  -  , 

to  claim  the  iiionojx)!)-  of  sense."  That  he 
does  not  refer  to  Hoi)kins  l^y  this  pointed 
criticism  is  evident,  for  in  the  same  commu- 
nication he  writes  :  "  I  liave  the  pleasure  of 
assuring  you  that  the  Commander  in  Chief 
is  respected  through  the  fleet,  and  I  verily 
believe  that  the  officers  and  men,  would  go 
any  length  to  execute  his  orders.  It  is  with 
pain  that  I  confine  this  plaudit  to  an  in- 
dividual ;  I  should  be  happy  in  extending 
it  to  every  captain  and  officer  in  the  service. 
Praise  is  certainly  due  to  some;  but.  alas, 
there  are  exceptions." 

Meanwhile  the  remaining  ships  of  the 
fleet  lay  in  Narragansett  Bay,  with  most  of 
their  crews  in  the  hospital.  Two  new  ships 
ready  for  service  swung  idly  in  the  stream, 
with  no  immediate  prospects  of  crews  to 
man  them.  Insubordination  among  the  offi- 
cers was  rampant,  and  this  important  branch 
of  the  service,  at  a  time  when  it  was  most  in 
demand,  remained  practically  worthless. 

For  some  weeks  after  the  "  instructions  " 
had  been  laid  before  Congress  the  matter 
was  the  subject  of  consideration,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  thirteentli  of  June  that  action 
was  taken  to  investigate  the  subject,  when 
Congress    ordered    Hopkins    and    Captains 


,  -  ^  ESEK  HOPKINS 

1  -1  - 


Saltonstall  and  WhipjDle  to  repair  to  Phila- 
delphia to  be  tried  for  breach  of  orders. 
On  the  next  day  John  Hancock,  President 
of  Congress,  addressed  a  letter  to  Hopkins, 
wherein  he  says  : 

"Sir:  Notwithstanding  the  repeated  efforts 
and  solicitations  of  the  Marine  Board  to  put 
the  Continental  ships  upon  a  respectable 
footing,  and  to  have  them  employed  in  the 
service  for  which  they  were  originally  de- 
signed, they  are  constrained  to  say  that  their 
efforts  and  solicitations  have  been  frustrated 
and  neglected  in  a  manner  unaccountable  to 
them  ;  and  in  support  of  their  own  reputa- 
tion, they  have  been  under  the  necessity  of 
representing  the  state  of  their  Navy  to  Con- 
gress, and  have  informed  them  that  there 
has  been  great  neglect  in  the  execution  of 
their  orders  ;  and  that  many  and  daily  com- 
plaints are  exhibited  to  them  against  some 
of  the  officers  of  the  ships  and  that  great 
numbers  of  officers  and  men  have  left  the 
ships  in  consequence  of  ill  usage,  and  have 
applied  to  the  Marine  Board  for  redress. 
These,  with  many  other  circumstances,  have 
induced  the  Congress  to  direct  you  to  repair 
to  this  city  *  *  *  As  your  conduct  in  many 
instances    requires    explanation    you  will  of 


£si:a'  noPKixs  j ,.  - 

course  be  questioned  with  respect  to  \our 
whole  proceedings  since  3^ou  left  the  city." 
Similar  letters  were  also  sent  to  Captains 
Saltonstall  and  Wliipple;  General  W'asln'ni;- 
ton  was  also  apprized  of  the  summons  to  the 
three  officers  of  the  fleet. 

In  response  to  this  summons  Hopkins 
and  his  two  captains  repaired  to  Philadel- 
phia. Inuring  the  absence  of  Ho})kins  the 
command  devolved  upon  Captain  Nicholas 
Biddle,  the  ranking  captain  in  the  fleet. 
This  officer  was  without  any  authority 
save  on  his  own  ship,  and  what  confusion 
and  insubordination  existed  previously  was 
intensified  by  the  departure  of  the  com- 
mander and  the  two  captains.  It  was  not 
until  September  that  Hopkins  returned.  On 
the  eleventh  of  July,  Saltonstall  and  W'hip- 
ple,  upon  recommendation  of  the  Marine 
Committee  (the  new  name  for  the  Naval 
Committee),  were  exonerated  by  Congress, 
Whipple  being  gentl\-  admonished  "  to  culti- 
vate harmony  with  his  officers."  The  trial 
of  Hopkins,  however,  was  not  so  soon  dis- 
posed of,  and  it  was  not  until  August  tweltth 
that  he  appeared  before  Congress.  To  a 
friend,  about  this  time,  he  wrote :  "  I  am 
glad  that  I  am  to  be  tryed  bv  a  Court  that  I 


J  -  ,  ESEK  HOPKINS 

can  have  no  doubt  but  will  judge  from  mat- 
ters of  fact  and  not  from  any  rumors  propa- 
gated out  doors  without  the  least  foundation." 

He  certainly  expected  that  he  would  re- 
ceive fair  treatment  in  the  consideration  of 
his  case,  and  that  sectional  prejudices  and 
political  differences  would  not  be  made  the 
basis  of  the  judgment  of  his  superiors. 

Hopkins  appeared  before  Congress,  and 
on  the  twelfth  of  August,  "  the  examination 
taken  before  the  Marine  Committee,"  and 
the  report  of  the  Committee  were  read  to 
him,  after  which  he  addressed  the  delegates 
in  Congress,  giving  his  reasons  for  pursuing 
the  course  he  had,  and  produced  two  wit- 
nesses to  substantiate  his  statements;  then 
he  withdrew  from  the  hall. 

The  main  points  of  Hopkins'  defence  are 
outlined  in  a  letter  to  his  brother,  written  a 
few  days  before  he  was  summoned  to  Phila- 
delphia for  trial.      In  this  he  says: 

"  When  I  went  to  the  Southward,  I  in- 
tended to  go  from  New  Providence  to  Geor- 
Sfia,  had  I  not  received  intellio-ence,  three  or 
four  days  before  I  sailed,  that  a  frigate  of 
twentv-eiu'ht  o'uns  had  arrived  there,  which 
made  the  force,  in  my  opinion,  too  strong  for 
us.       At    Vircjinia    thev    were    likewise    too 


ESEK    IlOI'k'lX'S  jrr 

strong-.  In  Delaware  and  New  York  it 
would  not  do  to  attenij^t.  Rhode  Island,  I 
was  sensible,  was  stronger  than  we,  but  the 
force  there  was  nearer  equal  than  aiu'where 
else,  which  was  the  reason  of  my  attempts 
there,  which  answered  no  other  end  than  the 
British  force  quitting  the  Government. 

When  I  attempted  the  fleet  at  Rhode 
Island,  had  all  the  commanders  behaved  as 
well  as  I  expected  they  would,  I  should  have 
had  it  in  my  power  long  before  this  to  have 
relieved  most  of  the  Southern  Governments 
from  their  present  difficulties;  but  as  the 
case  was,  it  was  lucky  we  did  not  fall  in 
with  the  whole  strength  at  first.  I  was  not 
deceived  in  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  but 
greatly  in  our  own  resolution;  perhaps  I 
was  wrong  in  not  giving  my  sentiments  fully 
at  first,  the  reason  of  \vhich  \vas,  I  was  in 
hopes  then  of  some  further  action,  and  that 
we  might  retrieve  the  character  of  the  fleet. 
But  the  inattention  to  business  of  most  of 
the  officers,  and  an  expectation  of  getting 
higher  stations  in  the  new  ships,  has,  as  I 
think,  been  some  hindrance  to  getting  the 
fleet  ready  to  sail  so  soon  as  otherwise  it 
might.  I  had  no  apprehension  of  the  can- 
non beins:  wanted  more  anywhere  else,  which 


J  -5  ESEK  IIOPKIXS 

was  the  reason  of  my  delivering  them  to 
Governours  Cooke  and  Trumbull. 

The  very  crreat  sickness  which  then  was, 
and  still  is,  amongst  the  seamen  of  the  fleet, 
rendered  it  impossible  to  undertake  any  en- 
terprise for  the  relief  of  any  colony,  although 
in  ever  so  much  distress.  All  that  I  have 
been  able  to  do  was,  to  send  the  two  brigs 
on  a  cruise,  which  I  acquainted  them  (the 
Naval  Committee)  with."  ' 

He  also  prepared  a  brief  memorandum  of 
his  answer  to  the  report  of  the  committee 
"  that  I  did  during  my  cruise  southward  not 
pay  due  regard  to  the  tenor  of  his  instruc- 
tions," which  was  thus  expressed  : 

"  My  orders  was  maid  the  5  day  of  Jan- 
uary and  I  did  not  sail  till  the  17th  of 
February  which  altered  the  station  of  the 
Enemy  perticulior  as  to  the  strength  of  the 
fleet  at  Virginia  and  all  the  ministerial  ships 
lieing  North  and  South  Carolina  as  appears 
by  Letters  from  the  Naval  Committee  as 
also  it  appears  to  me  they  Uid  not  expect  I 
should  strictly  follow  the  order  But  my 
own  judgment  and  prudence  according  to 
the  last  Article  in  my  orders," 

'  Hopkins  Tapers,  vol.  4,  note  26. 


The  rcjoort  of  the  Committee  and  Hoj> 
kins'  answer  to  the  charcres  against  him 
then  came  up  for  consideration,  and  liis 
conduct  and  official  acts  were  fully  dis- 
cussed. John  Adams  stood  up  manfully  for 
his  defence ;  he  recog-nized  Hopkins'  limita- 
tions and  frankly  admitted  them;  he  realized, 
too,  that  other  inlluences  besides  the  conduct 
of  Hopkins  were  working  powerfully  among 
his  fellow  members  in  Congress. 

Besides  this  Adams  had  been  from  the  start 
much  interested  in  the  building  of  a  navy,  and 
the  result  of  its  first  expedition  had  filled  him 
with  a  pardonable  pride.  Writing  to  a  friend 
soon  after  Hopkins  arrived  from  the  Bahamas, 
he  said :  "You  will  see  an  account  of  the 
fleet  in  some  of  the  papers  I  have  sent  you. 
I  give  you  joy  of  the  Admiral's  success.  I 
have  vanity  enough  to  take  to  myself  a  share 
in  the  merit  of  the  American  Navy.  It  Avas 
always  a  measure  that  my  heart  w'as  much 
engaged  in,  and  I  pursued  it  for  a  long  time 
afjainst  the  wind  and  tide,  but  at  last  ob- 
tained  it."  '  He  therefore  entered  into  the 
defence  of  Hopkins  with  a  determination 
that  justice  should  be  done  him  if  it  lay  in 
his  power  to  accom])lish  it. 


Hopkins  Papers,  vol.  4,  note  9. 


158 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


Under  the  date  of  August  twelfth,  1776. 
John  Adams  afterwards  wrote:  "Commodore 
Hopkins  had  his  hearing ;  On  this  occasion 
I  had  a  very  laborious  task  against  all  the 
prejudices  of  the  gentlemen  from  the  South- 
ern and  Middle  States  and  of  many  from 
New  England.  I  thought,  however,  that 
Hopkins  had  done  great  service,  and  made 
an  important  beginning  of  naval  operations. 

It  appeared  to  me  that  the  Commodore 
was  pursued  and  persecuted  by  that  anti 
New  England  spirit  which  haunted  Con- 
gress in  many  other  of  their  proceedings,  as 
well  as  in  this  case  and  that  of  General 
Wooster.  I  saw  nothing  in  the  conduct  of 
Hopkins,  which  indicated  corruption  or  want 
of  integrity.  Experience  and  skill  might 
have  been  deficient  in  several  particulars ; 
but  where  could  we  find  greater  experience 
or  skill  .^  I  knew  of  none  to  be  found.  The 
other  captains  had  not  so  much,  and  it  was 
aftewards  found  they  had  not  more  suc- 
cess. 

I  therefore  entered  into  a  full  and  candid 
investigation  of  the  whole  subject ;  consid- 
ered all  the  charges  and  all  the  evidence, 
as  well  as  his  answers  and  proofs  ;  and  ex- 
erted all   the  talents  and   eloquence  I  had  in 


justifying  him  where  he  was  justifiahle  aiul 
excusing  him  wliere  he  was  excusable." 

After  the  trial  had  ended  William  hlllery, 
a  member  from  Rhode  Island,  the  successor 
of  Samuel  Ward,  who  had  died  in  Philadel- 
phia while  Congress  was  in  session,  came 
over  to  .Adams  and  said  :  "  You  have  made 
the  old  man  )our  friend  for  life;  he  will  hear 
of  vour  defense  of  him  and  he  n.ever  forgets 
a  kindness." 

Such  proved  to  be  the  case,  for  manv 
years  afterwards  Hopkins  visited  his  friend 
and  defender  under  most  distressing  circum- 
stances, to  show  his  gratitude  for  the  interest 
Adams  had  taken  in  his  behalf. 

Congress  held  the  matter  under  advise- 
ment until  the  sixteenth  day  of  August,  and 
on  that  day  passed  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  that  the  said  conduct  of  Com- 
modore Hopkins  deserves  the  censure  of 
this  house  and  this  house  does  accordingly 
censure  him."  On  the  day  following  the 
passage  of  the  vote  of  censure  i^opkins 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  President  of  Con- 
gress acknowledging  the  receipt  of  the  coj^y 
of  the  resolve  and  stating  that  he  would 
remain  in  Philadelphia  "  to  know  if  they  ha\e 
any  further  commands."      On  the  nineteenth 


I  5o  ESEA'  NOPA'IXS 

Congress  directed  liim  "  to  repair  to  Rhode 
Island  and  take  command  of  the  fleet  for- 
nierlv  put  under  his  care." 

Hopkins  returned  from  Philadelphia  feel- 
ing keenly  the  strictures  of  Congress ;  a 
reputation  heretofore  unsullied  had  been 
attacked,  and  the  representatives  of  that 
country  he  had  used  his  best  endeavors  to 
defend,  advance  and  protect,  and  in  whose  in- 
terest he  had  staked  his  life,  had  smirched  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  pressure  that 
was  brought  in  Congress  to  dispose  of 
him  entirely,  John  Adams  felt  that  Hopkins 
had  accomplished  much  and  was  entitled  to 
better  treatment,  and  he  exerted  himself  to 
save  him  from  the  disgrace  of  a  discharge, 
and  it  is  certain  that  without  his  efforts 
Hopkins  would  have  then  been  dismissed 
from  the  service.  Of  the  result  Adams 
wrote : 

"Although  this  resolution  of  censure  was 
not  in  my  opinion  demanded  by  justice  and 
consequently  was  inconsistent  with  good 
policy,  as  it  tended  to  discourage  an  ofBcer, 
and  diminish  his  authority,  by  tarnishing 
his  reputation,  yet  as  it  went  not  so  far  as 
to  cashier  him,  which  had  been  the  object 
intended    l^y    the    spirit    that    dictated    the 


ESEK  iiorkixs 


lol 


prosecution,  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  think- 
that  I  had  not  labored  \vholl\-  in  \'ain  in 
his  defense." 

Additional  information  on  this  subject  is 
derived  from  the  followinu;  words  of  John 
Adams,  written  some  months  before  the  trial 
of  Hopkins  occurred  : 

"  There  were  three  persons  at  this  time 
who  were  standing  subjects  of  altercation  in 
Congress,  Gen.  Wooster,  Commodore  Hojd- 
kins  and  a  Mr  Wrixon.  I  never  could  dis- 
cover any  reason  for  the  bitterness  against 
Wooster,  but  his  being  a  New  England 
man  ;  nor  for  that  against  Hopkins  but  that 
he  had  done  too  much  ;  nor  for  that  against 
Wrixon,  but  his  being  patronized  by  Mr 
Samuel  Adams  and  Mr  R.  II.  Lee.  l)e  it 
as  it  may,  these  three  consumed  an  immense 
quantity  of  time  and  kept  up  the  passions  of 
the  parties  to  a  great  height." 

John  Paul  Jones  was  at  sea  in  the  '^Prov- 
idence  "  when  he  learned  the  result  of  Hop- 
kins' trial.  This  news  he  doubtless  obtained 
from  some  ship  master  who  had  not  been 
thoroughly  informed  in  the  matter.  lie 
may  however  have  felt  that  the  result  was  less 
harsh  than  had  been  anticipated.  At  any 
rate,  from  the  ''Providence  "  in  "  N    Latitude 


l62 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


37°4o"  and  W.  Long.  54"","  on  September  4, 
he  sent  a  letter  to  Hopkins  by  the  brig  ''Sea 
NympJi','  Capt.  W.  Hopkins,  saying:  "I 
know  you  will  not  suspect  me  of  flattery 
when  I  affirm  that  I  have  not  experienced  a 
more  sincere  pleasure  for  a  long  time  past 
than  the  account  I  have  had  of  your  having 
gained  your  cause  at  Philadelphia  in  spite  of 
party.  Your  late  trouble  will  tend  to  your 
future  advantage  by  pointing  out  your 
friends  and  enemies.  You  will  thereby  be 
enabled  to  retain  the  one  part  while  you 
o-uard  ao^ainst  the  other  You  will  be  thrice 
welcome  to  your  native  land,  and  to  your 
nearest  concerns.  After  your  late  shock, 
they  will  see  you  as  gold  from  the  fire,  of 
more  worth  and  value;  and  slander  will  learn 
to  keep  silence  when  Admiral  Hopkins  is 
mentioned." 

On  the  twenty-second  of  August  the  Ma- 
rine Committee  ordered  Hopkins  to  dispatch 
four  of  the  vessels  to  cruise  in  the  neia^hbor- 
hood  of  Newfoundland,  to  destroy  the  fish- 
eries and  to  intercept  British  merchantmen 
bound  for  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  At 
the  same  time  he  was  authorized  to  purchase 
the  ""Hawk^  one  of  the  vessels  captured 
b)'  hini  on  his   way  from  the    Bahamas,  fit  it 


ESKK'   J/OJ'K/\S 


163 


up  and  rename  it  the  ''Hopkins''  and  send 
this  vessel  with  the  otliers  to  Newfoundland, 
and  to  "  hoist  his  broad  pennant  on  board 
any  of  the  vessels,"  Such  a  i)rojjosition 
seems  to  imply  that  already  the  committee 
were  somewhat  ashamed  of  the  way  they 
had  used  him,  and  sought  to  atone  for  it  by 
offering  this  honor  of  naming  the  vessel  as 
a  sop  to  his  wounded  feelings,  for,  as  ludge 
Sta})les  well  says,  "Such  a  compliment  is 
seldom  paid  to  an  inei^cient  or  unfaithful 
officer."  On  account  of  the  lack  of  seamen 
the  ships  were  not  sent  on  this  expedition, 
"there  are  so  many  privateers  fitting  out 
which  gives  more  encouragement  to  shares 
it  makes  it  difficult  to  man  the  continental 
vessels,"  wrote  Hopkins.  The  failure  of 
this  expedition  to  Newfoundland  provoked 
much  criticisni  from  the  Committee,  and  on 
the  tenth  of  October,  the  Marine  Committee 
addressed  Hopkins  this  letter,  wherein  he 
was  ordered  upon  another  cruise: 
"Sir: 

We  learned  some  time  since  with 
much  concern  that  the  expedition  we  had 
planned  for  you  to  execute  would  prove  abor- 
tive as  the  ships  had  gone  out  a  cruizing 
under  the  Struction  of  Governor   Trumbulls 


164 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


recommendations,  with  which  we  cannot  be 
well  satisfied,  altho,  in  this  instance,  we  are 
disposed  to  pass  it  by  in  silence,  being  well 
convinced  both  he  and  the  several  Captains 
meant  to  perform  Service  at  a  time  when 
the  Ships  were  idle. 

Supposing,  therefore,  that  you  will  have 
been  obliged  to  lay  onside  the  expedition  to 
Newfoundland,  We  now  direct,  that  you  im- 
mediately collect  the  "'Alfred^''  ''Columbus'' 
""Cabbot''  and  ''Hampden','  take  them  under 
your  command  and  proceed  for  Cape  Fear 
in  North  Carolina  where  you  will  find  the 
following  Ships  of  War 

The  'Falcon  '  of  1 8  Guns 
'Scorpion  '  of  16  Guns 
&  'Cruiser'  of  8  Guns 
and  a  number  of  valuable  prizes  said  to  be 
40  in  number  and  other  vessels  under  their 
protection,  the  whole  of  which  you  will  make 
prize   of   with   ease.       We   understand    they 
have  erected  a  kind  of  a  Fort  on  Bald  Head, 
at  the  entrance   of   Cape   Fear  river,  but  it 
being  only  manned  with  a  few  people  from 
the  Ships  we  expect  you  will  easily  reduce 
it  and  put  the  same  in  the  possession  of  the 
State  of  No.  Carolina  or  Dismantle  it  as  may 
appear  best.      When    you    have    performed 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


lb"; 


this  service  you  had  best  deHver  to  the  Con- 
tinental Agent  there  such  of  your  j^rizcs  as 
may  sell  well  or  h-i  useful  in  Xorlh  C'aiolina 
others  you  may  convey  into  V^irginia  or  tliis 
place  for  we  dont  recommend  your  remaining 
in  North  Carolina  for  fear  of  being  blocked 
up  there.  Perhaps  you  may  receive  advice 
that  will  render  it  eligible  to  proceed  further 
southward  to  Rout  the  Enemies  Ships  at 
South  Carolina  &  Georgia  and  if  that  is 
practicable  you  have  not  only  our  approba- 
tion but  our  orders  for  the  attempt. 

We  hope  sir  you  will  not  loose  one  single 
moment  after  the  receipt  of  this  letter  but 
proceed  instantly  on  this  expedition. 
We  are  Sir 

Your  humble  Servants 
RoHT   Morris 
William   Ellerv 
JosiAii   Bartlett 
Tho   M    Keax 
Richard   Henry   Lee 

Wm     HoOl'ER 

Arthur   Middleton."  ' 

This  letter  arrived    during    Hopkins'  ab- 
sence and  was    delivered  to  his   son,  Capt. 

'  Hopkins  Papers,  vol.  4.  note  52. 


J  56  ESEK  HOPKINS 

John  B.  Hopkins,  who  had  been  wounded 
in  the  encounter  with  the  ''Glasgow'''  but 
was  again  on  duty.  He  recognized  its 
importance  and  at  once  dispatched  it  by 
special  messenger  to  his  father.  He  adds, 
in  a  memorandum  wherein  he  excuses  him- 
self for  opening  the  letter,  that  "our  ship 
is  all  ready  but  manning."  For  the  same 
causes  this  expedition  also  failed,  and,  so 
far  as  it  is  possible  to  now  judge,  the 
commander  was  powerless  to  act.  The 
apparent  disregard  of  these  orders  by  Hop- 
kins only  intensified  whatever  prejudices 
had  been  aroused  against  him  in  Congress. 
Changes  were  being  constantly  made  in 
the  personnel  of  the  Marine  Committee, 
and  this  committee  was  the  subject  of 
severe  criticism  for  its  inactivity.  John 
Jay,  on  October  ii,  the  day  after  the  order 
of  the  Marine  Committee  w^as  sent  to  Hop- 
kins, wM'ote  to  Edw^ard  Rutledge  :  '"  What 
is  your  fleet  and  noble  admiral  doing?  What 
meekness  of  wisdom,  and  what  tender-hearted 
charity!  I  can't  think  of  it  with  patience. 
Nothing  but  more  than  ladylike  delicacy 
could  have  prevailed  on  your  august  body  to 
secrete  the  sentence  they  passed  upon  that 
pretty  genius.     I    reprobate    such    mincing, 


ks/-:k  j/o/'/k'/.vs 


167 


little  zigzag  ways  of  doing  business.  Either 
openly  acquit  or  openly  condemn,"  and  this 
illustrates  the  general  trend  of  public  senti- 
timent  regarding  this  branch  of  the  service. 
Hopkins  endeavored  to  put  this  order  of 
the  committee  into  execution,  and  exerted  all 
his  influence  and  energies  to  this  end,  and  a 
few  days  later  he  appeared  before  the  General 
Assembly  of  Rhode  Island,  then  in  session 
at  Kingstown,  "and  applied  for  an  embargo 
till  the  Continental  fleet  was  manned."  1  le 
worked  diligently  with  the  members  to  secure 
the  })assage  of  this  act,  "  but  failed  in  get- 
tinor  it  by  two  votes,  owino;  to  a  number 
of  the  members  being  deeply  concerned  in 
privateering."  In  despair  he  wrote  to  the 
Marine  Committee:  "  I  thought  I  had  some 
influence  in  the  state  I  ha\e  lived  in  so  long 
but  find  now  that  Private  Interest  Heares 
more  sway  than  I  wish  it  did,"  and  he  adds: 
"  I  am  at  a  loss  how  we  shall  get  the  shij)s 
manned  as  I  think  near  one  third  of  the 
men  which  have  been  ship'd  and  rec'd  their 
monthly  pay  have  been  one  way  or  another 
carried  away  in  the  privateers  I  wish  I  had 
your  orders  when  Ever  1  found  any  man  on 
board  the  privateers  giving  me  lea\e  not 
only  to  take  him  out  But  all  the  rest  of  the 


1 68 


ESEK  nOPKJNS 


men;  that  might  make  them  more  Careful  of 
takino;  the  men  out  of  the  service  of  the 
State." 

This  power,  however,  was  denied  him.  but 
on  October  twenty-sixth  Congress  did  provide 
that  "  privateers  could  only  fly  pennants  by 
permission  of  Continental  Commanders," 
and  such  private  vessels  of  war  were  re- 
quired to  show  due  respect  to  continental 
vessels  on  penalty  of  loss  of  commission. 

Thus  time  dragged  on,  little  being  accom- 
plished by  the  fleet,  and  the  spirit  of  dis- 
satisfaction with  the  commander  growing 
stronger  and  stronger,  until  the  early  days 
of  December.  One  disaster  after  another 
had  occurred  to  cast  odium  upon  the  little 
American  Navy,  and  it  seemed  as  though 
the  fates  had  conspired  against  it  and  all 
connected  therewith,  when,  on  the  seventh 
day  of  December,  1776,  a  British  fleet  con- 
sisting of  "  about  fifty  four  sail  of  transports 
and  sixteen  sail  of  men  of  war,"  sailed  into 
Narragansett  bay  around  the  north  end  of 
Conanicut  island  into  the  harbor  of  New- 
port. On  the  next  day  a  force  of  six  thou- 
sand men  landed  and  took  possession  of  the 
town.  The  news  was  hurriedly  sent  through- 
out tlie  colony,  and  excitement  ran  high. 


ESEK  JJOPKJXS 


169 


With  the  British  fleet  and  troops  lioldini; 
Newport  and  the  adjacent  territory,  the 
American  fleet  was  as  completely  blockaded 
within  the  waters  of  Narragansett  lua)-  as 
was  the  fleet  of  Spain  at  Santiago. 

On  December  tenth,  Hopkins,  from  his 
flag  ship,  the  ''Warren',''  then  lying  five 
miles  below  Providence,  sent  a  disj^atch  to 
the  Marine  Committee  exi)laining  the  situa- 
tion in  Rhode  Island,  wherein  he  says: 

"  Three  days  ago  the  English  fleet,  of 
about  fifty-four  sail  of  transports  and  sixteen 
sail  men  of  war  arrived  in  the  bay  and  two 
days  ago  they  landed,  I  believe,  about  40c>o 
troops,  and  took  possession  of  the  island  of 
Rhode  Island,  without  opposition.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  town  of  Newport  favored 
their  operation,  I  believe,  too  much.  The 
Militia  are  come  in,  in  order  to  j)revent  the 
further  operations.  I  thought  it  best  to  come 
up  the  river  after  the  fleet  was  within  about 
two  leages  of  us,  with  the  "'Warrcit  "  ''Frovi- 
dciicer  ''Cohinihus'  brigantiiie  '" Hampdcu^' 
and  sloop  ''Providencey  The  inhabitants  are 
in  daily  expectation  of  an  attack  on  the  town 
of  Providence.  I  have  got  the  ships  in  the 
best  position  of  defence  we  can  make  them, 
without  they  were  full}'  manned,  which    they 


I/O 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


are  not  more  than  half.  We  lay  where  the 
ships  cant  come  up  that  draw  much  more 
water  than  we  do.  If  we  get  the  ships  man- 
ned, shall  take  some  favourable  opportunity 
and  attempt  getting  to  sea  with  some  of  the 
ships;  but  at  present  think  we  are  of  more 
service  here  than  at  sea  without  we  were 
manned."  The  situation  in  Rhode  Island 
at  this  time  was  a  most  alarming  one.  All 
of  the  state  troops  were  called  into  service, 
the  fortifications  which  had  been  thrown  up 
all  along  the  bay  side  were  hurriedly  man- 
ned, and  the  whole  state  became  a  vast 
camp  confronting  the  enemy.  For  nearly 
three  years  the  British  remained  in  posses- 
sion of  the  town  of  Newport  and  the  adja- 
cent territory.  During  this  time,  conflicts 
between  the  two  contendino^  forces  were 
frequent. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  British  forces 
took  possession  of  Newport  that  an  incident 
occurred  which  brought  down  upon  Hop- 
kins much  criticism  from  the  officers  of  his 
fleet,  as  well  as  from  the  people  in  the  state. 

Whether  he  was  justly  so  criticised  is 
difficult  now  to  decide,  yet  the  incident  was 
used  against  him  with  telling  force  in  the 
events  which  subsequently  took  place  before 


ESEK  HOl'KIXS  ,  -  , 

Congress,  and    was   brought    uj)   again    in    a 
suit  at  law  which  followed. 

On  the  second  day  of  January,  1777,  at 
about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  while  the 
''Warren^'  was  lying  off  Field's  Point,  at 
the  entrance  to  Providence  harbor,  an 
orderly  from  Colonel  Howen,  who  was 
located  at  Warwick,  came  on  board  and  de- 
livered to  Hopkins  a  message  containing 
the  information  that  a  British  war  vessel 
was  aground  near  Warwick  Neck,  about 
half  way  between  Providence  and  Newport. 
At  this  point  there  had  been  erected  a 
battery  of  two  eighteen  pound  guns  and  a 
permanent  garrison  established. 

When  the  news  was  received,  the  ship 
''Providence^'  lay  about  a  mile  below  the 
point,  and  the  sloop  "'Providence  "  lay  against 
the  Pawtuxet  shore,  about  four  miles  .still 
farther  to  the  southward.  As  soon  as  Hoj)- 
kins  received  this  information,  he  endeavored 
to  get  down  the  river  to  investigate  the  sit- 
uation. Captain  Allen  Brown,  a  pilot,  was 
at  that  time  on  board  the  "'Warren.'^  I  le  is 
described  as  "one  of  the  best  in  the  ri\er,"' 
who,  being  consulted  as  to  the  advisability 
of  taking  one  of  the  ships  down  to  the  point 
where    the   grounded    vessel     lay,   informed 


I  y  2  ESEK  HOPKINS 

Hopkins  "the  wind  was  so  far  westerly  and 
•  blowed  so  hard  that  the  ships  could  not  be 
carried  down." 

Between  Field's  Point  and  Warwick  Neck 
there  was  then,  and  there  is  now,  a  reach  of 
circuitous  channel  "  narrow  and  crooked." 
It  was  within  this  reach  that  5'ears  before  the 
"•Gaspec'  had  met  her  fate  after  grounding 
in  its  dangerous  shoals.  Hopkins  therefore 
did  not  venture  with  either  of  the  ships,  but, 
taking  the  " /^czr/r //'.s- "  pinnace  with  twenty- 
two  men,  went  to  the  "'Providence''  {^oo^), 
Captain  Whipple,  taking  Captain  Brown, 
the  pilot,  with  him.  Upon  arriving  on  board 
the  sloop  and  finding  her  fully  manned,  they 
immediately  got  under  weigh  and  proceeded 
down  the  river  toward  the  stranded  vessel. 
As  the  sloop  drew  down  upon  her  it  was  dis- 
covered that  she  was  the  Frigate  "'Diamond''' 
and  that  she  lay  "on  a  shoal  which  runs  off 
S.  W.  from  Patience  about  half  a  mile  from 
that  Island  and  a  little  more  S.  E.  from 
Warwick  Neck."  There  was  about  eleven 
feet  of  water  at  low  tide,  and  as  the  tide  was 
about  half  down  she  did  not  careen.  Lying 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  off,  about  south- 
west by  south,  was  a  fifty  gun  ship  with  her 
top  sails  loose,  her  "  anchor  apeak,"  which^ 


as  the  wind  was,  could  have  floated  her 
within  pistol  shot  of  the  ""Diamoiidr 

Hopkins  was  of  tlie  ()])ini{)n  tliat  on  ac- 
count of  the  severity  of  the  wind  she  did  not 
"  come  to  sail."  From  his  knowlcdofe  of  the 
river  and  bay,  with  the  gale  then  blowing, 
he  felt  that  it  w^ould  be  unwise  to  order 
his  ships  down  to  the  "'Diamond''  and  even 
if  the  wind  had  not  blow^n  so  hard  and  the 
ships  could  have  been  brought  dow^n,  he 
afterward  said  he  should  not  have  done  so, 
for  "  the  Enemys  ships  could  have  come  to 
sail  with  any  wind  that  we  could  and  a  great 
deal  better  as  they  lay  in  a  wide  channel  and 
we  in  a  very  narrow  and  very  crooked  one." 
Arriving  off  Warwick  Neck,  Hopkins  went 
ashore  to  the  fort,  where  he  was  informed  by 
Colonel  Bowen  that  he  had  sent  for  two 
eighteen  pounders,  and,  after  remaining 
there  a  half  hour,  until  the  guns  arrived, 
Hopkins  went  back  to  the  sloop. 

What  subsequently  took  place  is  best  told 
in  Hopkins'  own  words  : 

"  I  went  aboard  the  sloop  and  we  dropped 
down  under  the  ships  stern  a  little  more  than  a 
musket  Shot  off  it  being  then  a  little  after  sun- 
set, we  fired  from  the  sloop  a  number  of  shot 
which  she  returned  from  her  stern  chasers  ; 


T  ^  ,  ESEK  HOPKINS 

the  ship  careened  at  Dusk  about  as  much  as 
she  would  have  done  had  she  been  under 
sail,  after  they  had  fired  from  the  shore 
about  twenty  six  shots  they  ceased  and  soon 
after  hailed  the  sloop  and  said  they  wanted 
to  speak  with  me.  I  went  ashore  and  was 
informed  they  were  out  of  Ammunition.  I 
offered  them  powder  and  stuff  for  wads  but 
we  had  no  shot  that  would  do,  they  sent  to 
Providence  for  poAvder  and  shot  and  I  went 
aboard  the  sloop  and  sent  some  junk  ashore 
for  wads,  soon  after  they  hailed  again  from 
the  shore  and  I  went  to  see  what  they 
wanted,  and  gave  Capt.  Whipple  orders  not 
to  fire  much  more  as  I  thought  it  would  do 
but  little  execution  it  being  night  and  could 
not  take  good  aim  with  the  guns.  When  I 
o^ot  ashore  the  officer  that  commanded  them 
desired  that  I  would  let  them  have  some 
bread  out  of  the  sloop  which  I  sent  the  boat 
off  for  but  the  people  not  making  the  boat 
well  fast  while  they  were  getting  the  bread 
she  drifted  away  and  I  could  not  get  aboard 
again.  The  ship  by  Lighting  got  off  about 
2  o'clock  the  same  night." 

Hopkins  did  not  regard  this  exploit  with 
much  concern  until  nearly  two  months  after- 
wards,  wiien    he  found  that    a  "  scandalous 


account"  of  tlie  affair  had  been  sent  to  tlie 
Marine  Committee  by  a  Mr.  \'esey,  one  of 
tlie  prize  agents  at  IJoston.  It  so  hapjjened 
that  this  Mr.  Vesey,  while  on  liis  way  from 
Philadelphia  to  Boston,  stopped  at  Provi- 
dence to  consult  with  Plopkins,  and  when 
the  news  that  the  frigate  was  ashore  reached 
the  ''IVarrcu'''  he  was  on  board.  Desiring 
to  participate  in  the  adventure  he  "  went 
down  as  a  volunteer  with  the  Commodore 
on  the  sloop  ' Providence y  and  thus  became 
an  eye  witness  to  all  that  occurred.  In  his 
account  he  says:  "she  (the  'Diamond'')  was 
suffered  to  depart  though  the  wind  was 
directly  down  the  river  so  that  none  of  the 
English  ships  could  come  to  her  assistance." 

This  story  of  V^esey's  was  repeated  from 
one  to  another  and  finally  became  a  subject 
of  such  importance  that  it  entered  largely 
into  the  causes  which  finally  led  to  Hopkins' 
discharge  from  the  navy. 

The  oflRcers  in  the  fleet  inimical  to  Hop- 
kins made  light  of  it.  the  people  of  the 
state,  who  were  in  no  position  to  know  the 
merits  or  demerits  of  the  case,  roundlv  cen- 
sured him  tor  lettiiig  a  heijiiess  British  frigate 
escape.  It  served  also  to  bring  back  again 
to  the  minds  of  all  the  unfortunate  affair  of 


I  76 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


the  '' Glasgow, ^^  while  many  a  smile  was  pro- 
duced at  the  ludicrous  position  of  the  com- 
mander of  the  navy  rowing  backward  and 
forward  from  his  temporary  flag-ship  at  the 
whim  of  a  militar)^  ofiBcer  at  a  bay  side  bat- 
tery, until  he  lost  his  boat  and  was  unable  to 
gain  his  ship. 

Troubles  which  were  ijrowano:  greater  and 
greater  seemed  following  closely  after  Hop- 
kins. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  winter  the 
''Al/ycd''  and  ''Cabot''  got  to  sea  and  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  around  to  Boston,  from 
which  place  they  cruised  independently. 
About  this  time  Hopkins  wrote  to  William 
Ellery,  then  a  delegate  in  Congress  from 
Rhode  Island:  "We  are  now  blocked  up  by 
the  enemys  fleet  the  officers  and  men  are 
uneasy,  however  I  shall  not  desert  the  cause 
but  I  wish  with  all  my  heart  the  Hon  Marine 
Board  could  and  would  get  a  man  in  my 
room  that  would  do  the  Country  more  good 
than  it  is  in  my  power  to  do,  for  I  entered 
the  service  for  its  good  and  have  no  desire  to 
keep  in  it  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  cause  I 
am  in." 

This  uneasy,  inactive  life  of  the  officers  in 
the  fleet,  was  productive  of  no  good  to  any 


one.  Bickerings  and  contentions  occurred 
between  themselves,  wliile  it  also  afforded  a 
favorable  opportunity  for  the  completion  of 
a  well  laid  plot  to  get  rid  of  their  com- 
mander. It  would  be  unfair  to  accuse  all 
the  ofificers  of  the  fleet  of  being  parties  to 
this  transaction  ;  there  were  many  who  were 
loyal  friends  of  the  commander,  but  among 
the  officers  of  the  ''JVanm,'"  Hopkins'  own 
ship,  he  seems  to  have  had  few  whom  he 
could  call  such. 

These  events  practicalh'  close  Hopkins' 
career  in  the  naval  service  of  the  United 
States.  The  fleet  never  again  got  to  sea, 
and,  although  individual  ships  performed 
most  valuable  and  important  service,  and 
the  officers  won  imperishable  renown  for 
bravery  and  heroic  conduct,  the  naval  squad- 
ron, which  sailed  so  proudly  on  its  course 
from  Delaware  bay  nearly  a  year  before, 
practically  ended  its  life  in  Narragansett 
bay.' 

'  What  ultimately  became  of  all  the  vessels  of  the  first  American 
fleet  is  uncertain.  No  record  has  been  preserved  of  the  fate  of  the 
"Columbus,"  '"Hornet"  and  ""F!y."  The  "Alfred"  was  cap- 
tured by  the  "Ariadne"  and  "Ceres"  in  1778.  The  "Cabot" 
was  driven  ashore  on  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia  by  the  "  Mil  ford" 
in  1777,  and  abandoned.  She  was  afterwards  hauled  off  anil  taken 
into  the  liritish  navy.  The  "Andrea  Doria"  was  burned  in  the 
12 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    CONSPIRACY    AND    DISMISSAL. 

DURING  the  time  that  the  fleet  was  shut 
up  in  Narragansett  Bay,  and  while  Hop- 
kins was  exertino^  himself  to  find  men  to 
man  his  ships,  and  strugghng  against  all  the 
opposition  with  which  he  had  been  con- 
stantly confronted,  a  scheme  was  set  on  foot 
to  strike  him  a  final  blow  and  crush  him 
completely.  He  was  too  active  in  some 
respects,  if  he  was  charged  with  inactivity 
by  those  who  were  far  removed  from  the 
scenes  of  his  labors.  In  the  rearrangement 
of  the  navy  list,  in  October,  1776,  a  law  was 
passed  regulating  the  rank  of  the  officers 
of  the  navy  and  a  list  of  twenty-four  cap- 
tains approved.      No  special  appointment  or 


Delaware,  in  1777,  to  prevent  her  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  The  ^'Providence"  (sloop)  was  taken  in  the  Penobscot, 
in  1779.  1  he  ''Wasp"  is  supposed  to  have  been  sunk  in  the 
Delaware  to  prevent  capture  by  the  enemy.  The  'Providence" 
(ship)  was  captured  at  Charleston  in  1780,  and  the  "Warren" 
was  burned  in  the  Penobscot  in  1779.  (Naval  History  of  the 
United  States,  Cooper,  vol.   1,  page  247.) 


ESKK   //O/'A'/.VS  ,  ^ri 

confirmation  of  the  former  appointment  was 
made  respecting-  the  Commander-in-Chief. 
Hopkins  held  this  position  by  \-irtue  of  his 
first  appointment,  and  although  each  of  his 
old  captains  and  some  new  ones  received  a 
special  assignment  of  rank,  his  name  and 
rank  were  omitted.  He  was  not  popular 
with  Congress,  and  a  way  was  left  open, 
when  the  proper  time  should  arrive,  to  dis- 
pose of  him  entirely,  and  at  the  same  time 
provide  against  future  troubles  by  making 
no  provision  for  such  an  ofificer.  The  time 
for  such  action  soon  came.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  the  committee  of  Rhode 
Island  merchants  and  ship  owners  who  had 
the  charge  of  building  the  two  vessels  in  that 
state,  the  '''Wa7nm''  and  ''Providence^' \\?i(\ 
so  far  adv-anced  in  their  work  that  in  the 
early  spring  of  1776  these  vessels  were 
launched. 

This  committee,  in  addition  to  other  du- 
ties and  responsibilities,  had  the  power  to 
appoint  officers  for  the  two  ships.  This  was 
a  duty  not  easy  to  perform.  There  was  no 
lack  of  good  men  in  the  state  for  the  ser- 
vice, but  government  service  was  not  to  their 
liking,  it  was  less  remunerative  than  that 
on  private  vessels  of  war,  and  some  of  the 


J  So  ESEK  HOPKINS 

very  men   on   this  committee  were  more  in- 
terested in  having  their  own   privateers  offi- 
cered and  manned  than  they  were  to  serve 
their  countrv's  interests.     This  feature  was 
one   of    the   most    troublesome    with    which 
Hopkins  had  to  deal.      The  privateers  took 
nearly  all  the  available  men,  and  the  govern- 
ment ships  were  left  with  insufficient  crews. 
It    will    also    be    remembered    that    he    en- 
deavored to  secure  from   the  legislature   of 
the  state  an  embaro-o  until  his  vessels  were 
manned  but  did  not  succeed  in  so  doing.     He 
did  succeed,  however,  in  arousing  much  oppo- 
sition  against   him   by  the  owners  of   these 
privateers,  and  they  did  not  forget  his  inter- 
ference.     In   order  to  secure  officers  for  the 
ships,  sub-committees  were  appointed  from 
the  eeneral  committee,  to  oo  into  the  various 
towns  in   the  adjoining  states   and  pick   up 
such  men  as  they  could  find  who  would  enter 
the  service.     These  committees  visited   the 
towns  of  Boston,  Dartmouth,  Mendon,  Bridge- 
water,  Taunton,  in  Massachusetts,  and  other 
places,  and  secured  men  evidently  competent 
to  assume  the  duties  of  the  offices  to  which 
they  were  subsequently  appointed.     Among 
the  men  thus  selected  were  John   Grannis, 
Barnabas    Lothrop,    Samuel    Shaw,    James 


COMMODOKF.    HOI'KIXS. 

Ensra-H-ci  for  Murray  s  History  of  the  A»u-rican    War,  by  K.  I'ollar,!, 

and f>rinted for  T.  Rol'xoii,  Ne7v  Castle-upon-Tyiic. 

From  an  original  f>rint. 

Portrait  Plate  4. 


ESEA-  HOPKINS 


iSl 


Sellers,  Roger  Haddock,  John  Trunian. 
James  Brewer,  John  Reed  and  George  Still- 
man.  There  was  yet  another,  Richard 
Mar\in  by  name,  who  was  a  shi])  carpenter 
and  had  worked  on  the  vessels  now  about  to 
be  put  in  commission.  These  men  were  all 
assigned  to  the  " /f^^rr^v/,"  on  which  subse- 
quently flew  Hoj)kins'  broad  j^ennant.  The 
most  conspicuous  of  these  men  in  the  plot 
which  afterwards  developed  were  Marvin  and 
Grannis.  Little  is  known  of  John  Grannis, 
though  he  belonged  in  Falmouth,  Mass.,  and 
was  appointed  cajDtain  of  marines,  June  i-), 
1776.  It  appears,  however,  that  he  was  a 
willing  tool  of  Marvin's,  and  from  his  rank 
lent  some  force  and  importance  to  the  part 
which    he  was  called  upon  to  perfoi-m. 

Marvin,  however,  is  better  known,  for  in  the 
latter  years  of  his  life  he  kept  a  private  school 
in  Providence,  and  had  a  large  number  of  pu- 
pils, the  author's  grandfather  being  enrolled 
among  them.  Richard  Marx'in  was  born  in 
England,  in  i  750,  and  was,  therefore,  a  young 
man  when  he  entered  the  service  of  the  col- 
onies; he  was  by  trade  a  ship  carjDenter,  he 
had  received  more  than  an  ordinar\'  educa- 
tion, was  a  fine  penman,  and  there  seems  to 
be  oood  reason  for  belief  that  he  had  served 


jg2  ESEK  HOPKINS 

in  the  British  navy,  or  merchant  service,  in 
a  subordinate  caj3acity,  where  he  had  ob- 
tained some  knowledge  of  seamansliip  and 
navigation.  He  received  his  appointment  of 
third  Heutenant  on  the  "  Wat^rcii,'''  from  the 
committee  appointed  to  build  the  two  ships, 
on  April  30,  1776.  He  was  granted  a  pen- 
sion on  April  4,  1S18,  "for  eleven  months 
actual  service  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  U.  S. 
navy"  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  After 
the  war  Marvin  took  up  his  residence  in 
Providence,  where  he  lived  until  his  death, 
June  17,  1826.  He  was  constantly  employed 
in  the  ship  yards,  and  on  the  public  works  of 
the  town,  until  the  early  part  of  the  present 
century,  when  he  gave  up  his  trade  and 
opened  a  school  for  boys,  on  Pawtuxet  street, 
now  Broad  street,  opposite  to  Fenner  street, 
which  school  was  well  attended.  While  he 
always  signed  his  name  "  Richard  "  he  was 
known  far  and  wide  then,  and  even  to-day  is 
referred  to  as  "  Dicky  Marvin."  He  is  de- 
scribed by  one  who  remembered  him  well, 
as  "a  large,  fat  man,  marked  in  his  personal 
appearance  as  in  his  mental  peculiarities;" 
another  calls  him  a  "peculiar  character;" 
and  another  an  "  old  time  eccentric  char- 
acter,"   while    one    of    his    old    pupils    says,. 


A.VAA'   //OP/k'/XS 


I'\3 


"  ]\Iar\in  was  a  very  ])r()fanc  man,  and  a  great 
reader  of  Thomas  Paine."  The  concensus 
of  opinion  of  this  old  sailor  man  and  j3eda- 
gog  pictures  him  as  an  irascible,  meddle- 
some man,  profane  and  vulgar  in  speech  and 
habits.  He  was,  however,  a  good  school- 
master, and  insisted  on  discipline,  which  he 
enforced  with  a  birch  switch  ;  he  was  also  a 
most  skillful  penman  and  made  this  study  in- 
teresting for  his  pupils  by  writing  doggerel 
rhymes  for  them  to  copy.  The  author  holds 
among  his  treasures  an  ancient  copy  book 
formerly  belonging  to  his  grandfather,  used 
while  a  pupil  of  Marvin's,  which  bears  am})le 
testimony  to  his  ciualifications  as  a  penman. 
There  is  a  deal  of  humor,  as  well  as  reason, 
in  some  of  the  rhymes  which  Marvin  "  set 
for  copy."  A  boy  who  was  not  prompt  in 
his  appearance  at  the  regular  hour  for  open- 
ing school,  would  find  written  in  an  elegant 
hand  on  his  copy  book: 

"  When  you  are  sent  to  school  set  out  and  run 
Dont  stop  to  play  nor  join  in  idle  fun 
But  lay  your  course,  port  helm,  anil  brace  away. 
And  soon  you'll  land  in  Marvin's  peaceful  bay." 

All  of  Marvin's  rhymes  seem  to  have  had 
a  nautical  flavor.  Among  his  pupils  was 
James  West,  who  was  learning  the  trade  of 


1 84 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


a  caulker.  He  worked  part  of  his  time  in 
the  shipyard,  and  received  instructions  from 
Marvin  during  his  spare  moments.  Mr. 
West,  in  after  years,  well  remembered  this 
verse  which  his  preceptor  set  for  him  to 
copy: 

"  Be  wise  and  be  industrious  Jeams, 
And  drive  the  oakum  smartly  in  the  seams, 
Be  faithful  in  your  labors,  for  on  you, 
Depends  the  lives  of  seamen,  the  ship,  and  Cargo  too." 

Such  was  the  man  who  became  the  ring- 
leader in  a  miserable  conspiracy  to  rob  Hop- 
kins of  his  good  name,  and  to  force  his  re- 
moval from  the  command  of  the  American 
navy.  How  well  this  conspiracy  succeeded, 
future  events  will  disclose. 

Lonor  before  this  scheme  was  set  on  foot 
Hopkins  had  aroused  the  ill  will,  if  not  the 
enmity,  of  many  of  the  influential  merchants 
in  Providence,  by  his  efforts  to  stop  the  sail- 
ing of  privateers.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  he  had  gone  before  the  legislature  and 
endeavored  to  have  an  "  embargo  laid  upon 
Privateering  in  order  that  the  Continental 
ships  might  be  manned."  His  sensational 
charws  against  the  foremost  men  of  Provi- 
dence,  who  constituted  the  committee  to 
build    the    two    war    vessels,    had    produced 


ESKK   IIOPKIXS 


'•"^5 


imich  feeling  against  him,  and  the  disorder 
witli  whicli  this  committee  had  terminated 
its  career  shows  plain!}-  enough  that  the 
members  were  angered  and  eii"il)ittered  b\- 
his  interference. 

There  was  a  spirit  of  unrest,  too,  among 
the  officers  and  men  in  the  ships  at  this 
time,  and  the  opportunity  of  using  this  con- 
dition to  the  detriment  of  Hopkins  was  taken 
advantage  of  by  some  of  the  men  whom  he 
had  antagonized.  It  was,  evidently,  deter- 
mined that  certain  charges  should  be  made 
against  him  by  such  officers  in  the  fieet  as 
were  unfriendly  to  their  commander.  Who 
these  men  were  cannot  now  be  definitely 
stated,  Hopkins  refers  to  them  in  a  letter 
to  William  Ellery  as  "some  of  the  Gentle- 
men of  this  Town.  (Providence)  I  suppose 
the  owners  of  the  Privateers,  who  I  am 
sorry  to  say  are  greatly  prejudiced  against 
me." 

With  this  substantial  backing  of  men  of 
such  influence  and  wealth  it  was  an  easy 
matter  to  enlist  the  sympathies  of  these  idle 
and  restless  men  in  the  fleet  in  any  proposi- 
tion to  attack  the  commander. 

This  attack  came  from  the  ship  ''Warrcii'' 
on    which    Hopkins    had  hoisted  his  broad 


1 86 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


pennant,  and  came  in  the  form  of  a  petition 
to  the  Marine  Committee. 

Early  in  February,  1777,  this  petition  was 
drawn  up  and  quietly  circulated  among  the 
officers  on  the  "  Warren'''  and  it  was  sub- 
scribed to  by  Roger  Haddock,  John  Truman, 
James  Brewer,  John  Grannis,  John  Reed, 
James  Sellers,  Richard  Marvin,  George  Still- 
man,  Barnabas  Lothrop,  and  Samuel  Shaw. 
Some  of  the  officers  t(j  whom  it  was  pre- 
sented, however,  refused  to  attach  their 
names  to  it.'  All  these  men,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Marvin  and  Haddock,  were  resi- 
dents of  Massachusetts,  Marvin  being  the 
only  Rhode  Island  man  among  them,  and  he 
a  resident  of  Providence.  Haddock  belonged 
in  New  York,  and  was  master  of  the  ''War- 
ren T  Truman  was  a  gunner,  and  Brewer  a 
carpenter,  both  of  Boston;  Grannis  was  cap- 
tain of  marines,  and  belonged  in  Falmouth; 
Reed  was  the  chaplain,  and  belonged  in  Mid- 
dleborough ;  Sellers  was  second  lieutenant 
of  marines,  and  came  from  Dartmouth; 
Stillman  was  first  lieutenant  of  marines, 
and  came  from  Barnstable,  as  did  Lothrop, 
w^ho   was   a    second    lieutenant   of    marines; 


'  See  Proceedings  of  Court  Martial  of  R.  Marvin,  pag^e  207. 


ESEK   IIOI'KIXS 


187 


Shaw  was  a  midshij^man,  and  l3clon<;ed  in 
Bridgewatcr.  This  petition,  to  which  these 
men  subscribed  their  names,  was  as  follows: 

"On    Hoard  mi';  Sim-  'IWinrii^ 

Feb  19.  1777. 
M21C/1   Re  spec  led  Gcutlcmcii  : 

W  e  who  ])resent  this  petition,  engaged  on 
board  the  sliip  'JVarrcji'  witli  an  earnest 
desire  and  fixed  expectation  of  doing  our 
country  some  service.  We  are  still  anxious 
for  the  Weal  of  America  &  wish  nothing 
more  earnestly  than  to  see  her  in  peace  & 
prosperit)',  We  are  ready  to  hazard  every 
thing  that  is  dear  &  if  necessary,  sacrifice 
our  lives  for  the  welfare  of  our  country,  we 
are  desirous  of  being  active  in  the  defence 
of  our  constitutional  liberties  and  privileges 
against  the  unjust  cruel  claims  of  tyranny 
&  oppression ;  but  as  things  are  now  cir- 
cumstanced on  board  this  frigate,  there 
seems  to  be  no  prospect  of  our  being  ser- 
viceable in  our  present  station.  We  have 
been  in  this  situation  for  a  considerable 
space  of  time.  We  are  personally  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  real  character  &  conduct 
of  our  commander,  commodore  lioj^kins,  .S: 
we    take    this    method    not    haviiiLT    a   more 


I  38  ESEK   HOPKINS 

convenient  opportunity  of  sincerely  &  hum- 
bly petitioning,  the  honorable  Marine  Com- 
mittee that  they  would  inquire  into  his  char- 
acter &  conduct,  for  we  suppose  that  his 
character  is  such  &  that  he  has  been  guilty 
of  such  crimes  as  render  him  quite  unfit  for 
the  public  department  he  now  occupies, 
which  crimes,  we  the  subscribers  can  sufifi- 
ciently  attest. 

P.  S.     Capt  Granis  the  bearer  of  this  will 
be  able  to  give  all  the  information  desired. 

Roger   Haddock 
John   Truman 
James   Brewer 
John   Granis 
John   Reed 
James    Sellers 
Richard   Marvin 
Georo^e  Stillman 
Barnabas   Lothrop 
Samuel   Shaw' 

To  the  honorable  Marine  Committee  " 

Besides    this    general    petition    all    of    its 
■signers    subscribed    to    separate    papers    in 

'  From  a  copy  of  the  original  laid  before  Congress.       See  also 
Hopkins  Papers,  vol.  3,  page  10. 


/■:s/-:a'  iiopKi.vs 


189. 


which  each    made   specific    charges    against 
the  commander. 

I^y  tlicse  IIojDkins  was  charged  with  pro- 
fane swearing  in  common  conversation,  curs- 
ing the  Marine  Committee  and  calling  its 
members  as  well  as  Congress  itself  "  ignorant 
fellows — ]aw7ers  clerks — persons  who  dont 
know  how  to  govern  men;"  his  conduct  in 
the  management  of  the  fleet  was  also  com- 
plained of.  The  most  temperate  of  all  these 
individual  charges  was  that  of  John  Reed, 
the  chaplain,  and  on  account  of  some  of  its 
statements  is  important  in  arriving  at  a  just 
conclusion  as  to  what  there  was  in  the  mis- 
erable scheme. 

Reed's  testimony  against  his  commander 
was  as  follows  : 

"  On   Board  the  '  Warirn' 

Feb.  24,  1777 

1  the  subscriber  do  know  that  our  com- 
mander,, commodore  Hopkins,  allows  him- 
self to  speak  in  the  most  disrespectful  man- 
ner concerning  the  honorable  Continental 
Conorress,  althouQ:h  I  have  lived  in  the  cabin 
with  him,  I  do  not  remember  that  he  has 
ever  once  spoken  well  of  those  guardians  of 
America,  but  seems  to  embrace  every  oppor- 
tunity in  order  to  disparage  &  slander  them. 


jQQ  ESEK    HOPKINS 

He  does  not  hesitate  to  call  them  a  pack  of 
ignorant  fellows  —  lawyers  clerks — persons 
that  don't  know  how  to  govern — men  who 
are  unacquainted  with  their  business — who 
are  unacquainted  with  the  nature  of  man- 
kind— that  if  their  precepts  &  measures  are 
complied  with  the  country  will  be  ruined.  I 
have  also  heard  him  say  that  he  would  not 
obey  the  Congress.  He  not  only  talks  about 
them  most  disrespectfully  among  our  own 
folks  but  I  have  heard  him  exert  himself 
earnestly  in  order  to  disparage  them  before 
strangers,  before  two  prisoners  who  were 
masters  of  vessels  on  their  passage  to  New- 
port in  order  to  be  exchanged.  He  also  pos- 
itively asserts  that  all  mankind  are  exactly 
alike — that  no  man  ever  yet  existed  who 
could  not  be  bought — That  any  person  liv- 
ing could  be  hired  with  money  to  do  any  ac- 
tion whatsoever.  This  he  also  asserted  in 
the  hearing  of  the  before  mentioned  prison- 
ers, for  what  reason  I  can't  determine  unless 
he  was  desirous  of  making  a  bargain  with 
Sir  Peter  Parker. 

He  allows  himself  in  anger  &  in  common 
conversation  to  take  the  name  of  God  in 
vain  ;  he  is  remarkably  addicted  to  profane 
swearing.     In  this  respect  as  well  as  in  many 


ESEK   I/OI'KIXS  ,  g  , 

other  respects  he  sets  his  officers  &  men  a 
most  irreligious  &  impious  example.  He 
has  treated  jMisoners  in  the  most  inhuman 
and  barbarous  ir.anner — 1  very  well  know  by 
hearsay,  how  he  has  conducted  in  regard  to 
his  men's  being  paid  off  &  being  discharged 
when  the  term  of  time  for  which  they  engaged 
w^as  expired.  In  this  part  of  America  peo- 
ple are  afraid  of  him.  They  are  jealous  of 
him  (S:  he  is  an  effectual  obstacle  to  the  fleets 
being  properly  manned.  He  is  very  much 
blamed  by  people  here  for  not  destroying  a 
British  frigate  when  aground  a  few  days  ago 
in  this  river.  I  am  not  prejudiced  against 
the  man.  My  ow'n  conscience,  the  regard  I 
have  for  my  country  and  the  advice  &  earn- 
est desire  of  many  respectable  gentlemen 
have  induced  me  to  write  what  I  have  writ- 
ten. 

John   Reed."'  ' 

As  soon  as  the  signatures  had  been  ob- 
tained these  documents  were  intrusted  to 
Captain  John  Grannis,  who,  without  so  much 
as  asking  leave  of  absence,  quietly  deserted 
the    ship    and   set    out   for    Philadelphia   to 


'  Erom  a  copy  of  the  original  laid  before  Congress.     See  also 
Hopkins  Papers,  vol.  3,  page  14. 


JQ2  ESEK  //OPA'/XS 

present  the  petition  to  the  Marine  Coiniiiit- 
tee.  Hardly  had  Grannis  left  the  '^IVai^rcji,'' 
when  Shaw,  Reed  and  Haddock,  who  had 
signed  the  petition,  appeared  voluntarily 
before  Hopkins  and  frankly  admitted  they 
had  signed  a  petition  to  the  committee  derog- 
ative to  him,  and  confessed  that  they  had 
been  induced  to  do  so  "  by  some  Gentlemen 
of  the  town."  Further  inquiry  brought 
Hopkins  the  information  that  Grannis  was 
missing  from  the  ship  without  leave  and  the 
names  of  som.e  of  the  signers.  With  this 
information  he  at  once  addressed  a  letter  to 
William  Ellery,  a  delegate  in  Congress  from 
Rhode  Island,  in  which  he  says: 

"  I  have  lately  understood  bv  two  or  three 
officers  of  the  ship  ''  Wai'rai,''  who  came 
voluntarily  to  me ;  that  they  had  been 
Induced  to  sign  some  paper  or  Petition 
greatly  to  my  disadvantage :  which  they 
were  perswaded  to  by  some  of  the  Gent-"  of 
this  Town,  I  suppose  the  Owners  of  the 
Privateers,  who  I  am  sorry  to  say  are  greatly 
prejudiced  against  me,  since  I  endeavoured 
to  get  an  Embargo  laid  upon  Privateering 
in  order  that  the  Continental  ships  might 
be  mann'd — And  as  for  Captn.  Grannis  who 
I   understand   is  gone  to   you   with   it,  I   am 


esi:k  i/o/'h'/x.^  ,  ,,^ 

well  pcrswadcd  he  never  has  been  on  hoard 
the  ship  three  nights  together,  nor  1  believe 
ten  da\'s  this  fi\e  months  j^ast — and  all  that 
Ik-  ean  ha\e  aoainst  nie  as  we  are  enliix- 
strangers,  is  that  after  .several  times  desiring 
him  to  go  on  board  and  do  his  duty,  as  the 
ship  was  liable  to  be  attack'd  at  any  time;  I 
at  last  threaten'd  to  break  him  and  get 
another  man  in  his  Room  if  he  did  not — 
upon  which  he  went  on  board  but  staid  only 
two  nights — and  this  single  thing  must  Con- 
vince every  Impartial  Person,  that  for  an 
ofificer  of  a  Ship  to  leave  her  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  Captain  or  Lieutenant, 
when  she  was  in  danger  of  beino-  attack'd 
every  day  being  within  ten  miles  of  some,  & 
twenty  of  ten  or  twelve  Men  of  War,  some 
of  them  stronger  than  her,  two  hours  fair 
Wind  would  have  brought  them  along  side; 
and  to  go  such  a  Journey  without  first  en- 
deavouring to  Remedy  the  Evil  if  there  was 
any,  cannot  be  a  Friend  to  his  Country,  but 
must  act  upon  some  private  View,  which 
I  make  no  doubt  he  did  to  serve  some  of 
the  men  perhaps  that  made  him,  much  in 
the  same  manner  as  they  finished  the  Ships, 
who  have  cost  your  Agent  near  if  not  quite 
^4000 — which   was  absolutely  necessary  for 


jQ.  ESEK   HOPKINS 

them  before  they  could  be  ready  for  the 
Sea — and  that  you  will  soon  be  convinc'd 
off  by  his  accounts,  which  he  says  you 
will  have  soon  and  they  are  near  if  not 
double  the  Prices  first  Contracted  for,  owing 
to  some  of  the  very  Committee  that  built  the 
Ships,  taking  the  Workmen  and  the  Stock 
agreed  for,  off  to  work  and  fitt  their  Pri- 
vateers ;  and  even  threatning  the  Workmen 
if  they  did  not  work  for  them — I  am  very 
willing  to  come  to  you  to  answer  for  my 
Conduct  with  such  of  the  Committee  who 
built  the  Ships  as  I  could  name — but  not 
with  the  poor  men  who  only  acted  as  Ma- 
chines to  a  Sett  of  Men  who  I  wash  I  could 
say  I  thought  had  any  other  principle  but 
avarice — and  it  would  have  been  full  as  well 
if  some  of  the  Officers  had  brouorht  in  such 
accounts  for  Enlisting  men,  that  they  might 
have  been  Settled  with  on  any  other  Terms, 
but  signing  that  Paper  against  me.  And  it 
will  be  well  if  you  don't  find  them  Extrava- 
gant, as  the  Committee  did  not  chuse  to  pay 
them,  but  gave  em  Orders  on  the  Agent  for 
the  Money — 

Inclosed  you  have  a  Copy  of  one  of  the 
Officers  accounts — and  I  believe  you  will 
find  in  the  Committees  account  whenever  it 


ESEK   //O/'A'/XS  ,^,^ 

comes  to  hand,  anollier  ]cirL!,c  sum  and  all  for 
Enlisting  nun  ;  but  few  of  whom  ever  came 
on  board  the  Ships,  though  I  can't  Sa\-  ihcy 
did  not  go  on  board  the  Privateers — When- 
ever I  am  call'd  for  I  think  I  can  Speak  the 
Truth,  and  not  Stab  a  man  in  the  dark — 

What  the  purport  of  the  Com})laint  which 
Capt  C^rannis  may  have  brought  is,  I  do  not 
know,  but  as  the  Men  that  Sign'd  it  know 
but  httle,  and  are  worth  less  as  Sailors,  all  I 
shall  say  more  is  to  Inclose  a  Copy  of  what 
three  of  them  Voluntarily  Sign'd  being  Con- 
scious they  had  done  wrong — 

This  one  thing  I  can  Say,  and  with  Truth, 
that  I  engag'd  in  this  dispute  on  no  other 
design  than  to  serve  my  Country — and  I 
still  am  determined  not  to  desert  the  Cause 
— but  whenever  you  or  the  Congress  think 
you  can  get  a  man  in  my  room  that  will  be 
of  more  service  to  the  Cause  than  I  can,  you 
have  my  leave,  and  in  Justice  to  the  Country 
I  think  you  ought  to  do  it — and  I  shall  still 
Continue  to  do  what  good  I  can,  in  a  less 
Envy'd  and  less  troublesome  way — "  ' 

Grannis  ])roceeded  to  Philadelphia  and 
upon  his  arrival  promptly  appeared  before 
the   Marine  Committee    with  the  scurrilous 


Letters  and  orders  of  the  Comm;iiuler-in-Chicf,  page  74. 


196 


ESEK  HOPKIXS 


documents  which  liad  been  entrusted  to 
him.  Even  with  the  prejudice  which  the 
members  of  the  committee  had  against 
Hopkins  the  allegations  contained  in  the 
papers  presented  were  too  serious  to  be  at  first 
believed.  After  deliberating  over  the  whole 
matter  for  some  days  it  was  resolved  to  sum- 
mon Grannis  before  the  committee  and  ex- 
amine him  personally  as  to  the  charges  that 
he  and  his  fellow  officers  had  made  A  sub- 
committee was  appointed  to  "examine  John 
Grannis  on  the  subject  matter  of  the  petition.'' 
The  testimony  before  this  committee  was  not 
under  oath,  Grannis  merely  answering  the 
questions  put  to  him  by  the  committee. 

After  the  usual  questions  as  to  his  name, 
residence  and  occupation,  the  examination 
proceeded  as  follows : 

"  Q.  Are  you  the  man  who  signed  the 
petition  against  Esek  Hopkins,  Esq  by  the 
name  of  John  G ranis. 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Do  you  know  the  other  subscribers 
to  said  petition 

A.     Yes 

Q.  Are  any  of  them  officers  of  the 
'  Wain'-cu'.  &  if  officers  what  office  do  they 
sustain 


A.  John  Rccd  is  chaplain  i^  belongs  to 
Middleborough  &  James  Sellers  is  Second 
Lieutenant  of  the  '  IWirrc/i'  8c  oi  Dartmouth, 
both  of  Massachusetts  Hay  Richard  Marvin 
is  third  Lieutenant  &  of  Providence  George 
Stillman  first  Lieutenant  of  Marines,  Barna- 
bas Lothrop  Second  Lieutenant  of  Marines 
both  of  Barnstable,  Samuel  Shaw  is  a  Mid- 
shipman of  Bridgwater  Roger  Haddock  is 
master  of  the  frigate  &  formed}^  was  of  New 
York,  &  John  Truman  is  gunner,  &  James 
Brewer  Carpenter  &  both  of  Boston  in  the 
State  aforesaid. 

Q.  Have  you  a  personal  acquaintance 
with  Esek  Hopkins  Esq 

A.  Yes.  I  have  had  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  him  since  I  came  on  this  ship 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  him  say  anything 
disrespectful  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  &  what  &  when. 

A.  I  have  heard  him  at  different  times 
since  I  belonged  to  the  frigate  speak  disre- 
spectfully of  the  Congress  have  heard  him 
say,  that  they  were  a  set  or  parcel  of  men,  who 
did'nt  understand  their  business,  that  they 
were  no  way  calculated  to  do  business,  that 
they  were  a  parcell  of  lawyers  clerks,  that 
if  their  measures  were  followed   the  country 


198 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


would  be  ruined  &  that  he  would  not  follow 
their  measures.  I  have  heard  him  say  the 
above  in  company  on  ship  board  &  words  to 
the  same  effect  on  shore.  Sometimes  the 
above  was  spoken  of  Congress  in  general 
but  more  frequently  of  the  Marine  Com- 
mittee. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  him  speak  dis- 
respectfully of  Congress  or  the  Marine  Com- 
mittee before  prisoners. 

A.  No  I  never  was  in  his  company  when 
prisoners  were  present. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  his 
treatment  of  prisoners 

A.  I  was  on  board  the  frigate  'Provi- 
dence', when  there  were  about  20  prisoners 
on  board.  They  were  called  into  the  cabin 
wliere  I  was  &  were  asked  by  Capt.  Whip- 
ple, whether  they  would  do  ship's  duty. 
They  answered  No.  Capt.  Whipple  said 
it  was  his  orders  from  the  Commodore  to 
put  them  in  irons,  to  keep  them  on  two 
thirds  allowance  «&  by  God,  he  would  obey 
the  commodore's  orders.  They  were  sent 
out  of  the  cabin  with  an  oiificer  who  returned 
&  said  he  had  put  them  in  irons.  There 
were  also  some  prisoners  sent  on  board  the 
frigate    '  Warren'   who    were    forced    to    do 


ESEK   nor K INS  jgg 

sliip's  duty  by  commodore  Hopkins"  orders 
(S:  he  refused  to  exchange  them  when  a  cartel 
was  settled  «S:  otlier  prisoners  were  ex- 
changed, but  don't  know  that  it  was  their 
turn.  The  reason  he  assitjned  for  not  ex- 
changing  them  was  that  he  wanted  to  have 
them  enlist  on  board  the  frigate 

O.  Do  30U  know  anything  about  a  P)ritish 
frigate,  being  aground  last  winter  in  the 
river  or  bay  leading  up  to  Providence  in  the 
State  of  Rhode  Island  &c,  and  what. 

A.  I  did  not  see  the  'DiainojKr  frigate 
while  she  was  on  shore  in  Jan  last  I  was  then 
on  board  the  '  Ji^aj^iru'  which  with  the  Con- 
tinental fleet  lay  just  above  a  place  called 
Field's  Point  Commodore  Hopkins  went 
down  the  river  in  the  sloop  'Providcucc'  &. 
sometime  after  he  returned,  I  heard  him  say 
that  the  people  in  Providence  blamed  him 
for  not  taking  the  'Diamond'  but  that  the 
men  were  not  to  blanie,  for  they  went  as  far 
as  he  ordered  them  &  would  have  gone  fur- 
ther if  he  would  have  permitted  them,  but 
that  he  did  not  think  it  safe  to  go  with  the 
sloop,  for  that  the  'Diamond'  fired  over  her 
I  heard  a  nuniber  of  peo})le  who  said  they 
were  at  Warwick  neck,  when  the  Diamond' 
was    aground    there,    say,    that    commodore 


200 


ESKK   HOPKINS 


Hopkins  was  so  far  off  the  ship,  that  his 
shot  did  not  reach  her,  that  the  ship  lay  so 
much  on  a  careen,  that  she  could  not  bring 
any  of  her  guns  to  bear  upon  the  sloop  ;  and 
further  I  heard  some  American  seamen  who 
were  prisoners  when  the  'Diamond"  was 
aground  say,  after  they  were  exchanged,  that 
the  ship  lay  so  much  on  a  careen,  that  they 
could  not  have  hurt  the  Sloop's  people  so 
long  as  they  kept  out  of  the  reach  of  her 
small  arms.  They  also  said,  that  it  was  the 
intention  of  the  enemy  to  have  fired  the  ship 
&  left  her  if  the  sloop  had  come  near  enough 
to  have  played  upon  her.  One  of  the  sea- 
men who  told  me  the  above  was Weeks, 

&  another  of  them  was  named  Robinson 
Jones  both  of  Falmouth  aforesaid  &  young 
men  of  good  general  reputation 

Q.  Were  the  frigates  manned  when  you 
came  from  Pro\'idence. 

A.  No.  There  was  then  about  loo  men 
on  board  the  '  JVarren,'  &  I  heard  some  of 
the  oflficers  of  the  frigate  'Providence  '  say, 
tliat  in  last  Deceniber  they  had  on  board 
about  1 70  men  (S:  the  last  of  February  I 
heard  them  say,  that  so  many  of  their  men 
were  dead  &  ran  away,  that  they  were  then 
not  better  off  for  men  than  the  '  Warren i 


ESEK   HOPKIXS 


20I 


Q.  Commodore  Hopkins  is  charged  wiih 
loeing  a  hindrance  to  tlie  j^roper  manninLi;  of 
llie  Ik-el,  what  circumstances  do  you  know- 
relative  to  this  charge 

A.  \h^\■  my  part  his  conduct  and  coiner- 
sation  are  such  that  I  am  not  willing  to  be 
under  his  command.  I  thiidv  him  unfit  to 
command  &  from  what  I  have  heard  officers 
&  seamen  sav,  1  believe  that  it  is  the  general 
sentiment  of  the  fleet  &  his  conversation  is 
at  times  so  wild  &  orders  so  unsteady  that  I 
have  sometimes  th(Hight  he  was  not  in  his 
senses  &  I  have  heard  some  others  say  the 
same.  And  to  his  conduct  &  conversation 
it  is  attributed  both  by  people  on  board  the 
fleet  as  well  as  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
State  that  the  fleet  is  not  manned.  It  is 
generally  feared  by  the  people  both  on  board 
the  fleet  as  well  as  ashore,  that  his  commands 
would  be  so  imprudent  that  the  ships  would 
be  foolishly  lost,  or  that  he  would  forego 
0])|X)rtunities  of  getting  to  sea  or  attempt  it, 
when  impracticable.  The  seamen  belonging 
to  the  'Cohinibus  '  left  her  when  their  time 
of  service  expired  &  went  into  the  army  t!\:  1 
heard  some  of  them  say  that  they  would  not 
enlist  again  into  the  Continental  fleet  so  long 
as  Commodore    Hoj)kins   had   the  command 


202 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


of  it.  The  character  that  Commodore  Hop- 
kins bore  was  a  great  hindrance  to  me  in 
o^ettinor  recruits. 

Q.  Had  -you  Hberty  from  Commodore 
Hopkins  or  Capt  Hopkins  to  leave  the  frig- 
ate you  belong  to. 

A.  No  I  came  to  Philadelphia  at  the 
request  of  the  ofificers  who  signed  the  peti- 
tion against  Commodore  Hopkins  &  from  a 
Zeal  for  the  American  cause. 

O.  Have  you,  or  to  your  knowledge  either 
of  the  signers  aforesaid  any  difference  or  dis- 
pute with  Commodore  Hopkins  since  you  or 
their  entering  into  the  service. 

A.  I  never  had,  nor  do  I  believe  that 
either  of  them  ever  had.  I  have  been 
moved  to  do  &  say  w4iat  I  have  done  »S: 
said  from  love  to  my  country  &  I  very 
believe  that  the  other  signers  of  the  petition 
were  actuated  by  the  same  motives."  ' 

This  testimony  being  committed  to  writing 
was  signed  by  Grannis.  It  was  not  until 
March  twenty-fifth  that  the  committee  was 
prepared  to  lay  the  matter  before  Congress, 
but  on  that  day  the  Marine  Committee  "laid 
before    Congress  a  paper  signed  by  sundry 

'  From  a  copy  of  the  original  laid   before  Congress.      See  also 
Hopkins  Papers,  vol    3,  page  15. 


ESEK  llOrKIXS 


20' 


officers  in  the  fleet  containing  charges  and 
complaints  against  Commodore  Esek  Hop- 
kins." 

These  papers  were  read  and  tlie  whole 
matter  laid  upon  the  table.  The  next  day 
(March  twenty-sixth)  the  matter  was  taken 
up,  and  without  any  discussion  it  was  "  Re- 
solved, That  Esek  Hopkins,  be  immediately 
and  he  is  hereby,  suspended  from  his  com- 
mand in  the  American  Navy." 

About  this  time,  while  Hopkins  was  har- 
rassed  by  the  contentious  spirits  around  him, 
he  learned  that  his  son  Esek,  a  young  man 
nineteen  years  of  age,  was  a  prisoner  of  war 
at  Halifax.  Young  Esek  Hopkins  had  grad- 
uated from  Rhode  Island  College  in  the  class 
of  1775  and  almost  immediately  entered  the 
navy  as  a  midshipman,  and  was  assigned  to 
the  ""Alfred','  the  flag-ship.  He  rapidly  rose 
to  the  position  of  lieutenant,  and  while  act- 
ing in  this  position  on  the  ''Providence'^ 
(sloop)  he  was  captured  b\'  the  Hrilish  and 
taken  to  Halifax.  Through  the  influence  of 
his  father  the  General  Assembly  passed  an 
act  requesting  Major  General  Spencer,  then 
in  command  of  the  Continental  forces  in 
Rhode  Island,  to  exchange  Lieutenant  Otway, 
of  the  British   frigate  ''Lark,"  who  had  been 


204  ESEK  HOPKI.YS 

captured  by  the  state  troops,  for  the  son. 
No  such  exchange,  however,  took  place,  for 
young  Hopkins  sickened  and  died  while  a 
prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  He 
was  a  young  man  of  much  promise,  and  his 
father,  no  doubt,  felt  his  loss  keenly. 

Meanwhile  extraordinary  proceedings  were 
taking  place  in  the  fleet.  Hopkins  was  in- 
censed at  the  underhanded  and  improper 
manner  in  which  the  complaint  of  his  sub- 
ordinates had  been  brouQ-ht  to  the  attention 
of  Congress.  As  the  head  of  the  navy  he 
had  been  io-nored  and  insulted,  and  he  re- 
sented  it  squarely. 

Before  Grannis  had  reached  Philadelphia 
the  whole  plot  to  deprive  Hopkins  of  his 
command  and  put  a  blot  on  his  reputation 
had  been  exposed.  The  master  of  the 
''Warren','  Roger  Haddock,  chaplain  Reed, 
and  midshipman  Shaw,  who  had  come  to 
realize  the  enormity  of  their  acts,  presented 
themselves  before  their  commander  and  ac- 
knowledged their  offence;  at  the  same  time 
each  subscribed  to  a  document  very  different 
in  tone  to  that  which  had  been  entrusted  to 
Grannis  for  the  perusal  of  the  Marine  Com- 
mittee. 

Hopkins  closely  questioned  the  three  men 


/s'.SAA'    //(VA'/.\'.V 


20: 


and  ascertained  the  true  state  of  the  whole 
business.  Me  learned  tliat  the  ])lol  had  ori- 
i^inated  outside  of  the  lieet,  and  that  the  men 
on  board  tlie  ''  IVarrcii  ''  had  been  easily 
drawn  into  the  scheme  through  the  in- 
fluence of  the  erudite  Marvin.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  observe  the  difference  in  the 
declarations  made  by  Haddock,  Reed,  and 
Shaw,  after  they  had  confessed  their  part  in 
the  plot,  from  those  to  which  they  had  pre- 
viously subscribed  their  names.  Haddock's 
was  in  the  following  words: 

"Ship  '/F^^rnv/'  March  ye  16  1777 

1  tlie  subscriber  do  hereby  say  that  I  know 
nothing  either  of  the  public  or  private  char- 
acter of  Commodore  Hopkins  as  being  a 
stranQ^er,  nor  know  not  that  he  has  done 
anything  detrimental  to  the  cause  he  is  now 
eno^aged  in  at  Present 

Rogp:r   Haddock. 

Witness     Dam.  Tii.i.ixgiiast  " 

Reed  subscribed  to  the  following: 

"  This  mav  cert  if  v 

That  I  the  subscriber  in  my  own  j)erson 
have  been  treated  complacent!)-  by  Com- 
modore Hopkins  &  don't  know  that   he  has 


2o6 


ESEK   I/OPh'/XS 


designedly  acted  in  any  one  instance  inim- 
ically  to  his  country  but  that  according  to 
the  best  of  his  abiHties,  suppose  that  he  has 
acted  consistently  therewith 
Providence  14  March  1777       John  Reed 
Witness  at  Signing     Sam   Lyon."  ' 

While  Shaw  put  his  name  to  the  following- 
statement : 

"  These  may  certify 

That  I,  the  subscriber  have  been  treated  by 
Commodore  Hopkins  since  I  have  been  in 
the  navy  with  the  greatest  politeness  and 
decency  and  never  have  thought  that  he 
has  been  inimical  to  his  country  designedly, 
but  has  according  to  the  best  of  his  abilities 
acted  consistent  therewith 

Samuel  Shaw 
Providence  March  14  1777 

Witness  at  Signing     Sam   Lyon." 

For  some  days  after  Hopkins  had  obtained 
the  information  of  this  attack  upon  him  he 
devoted  himself  to  quietly  investigating  the 
matter.  During  this  time  he  ascertained  that 
Lieutenant  Richard  Marvin,  of  the  "'War- 
ren'' had  been  the  prime  mover  in  circulating 


'  Hopkins  Papers,  vol.  3.  page  14. 


ESKK   I/O/'A'/XS  207 

the  scurrilous  documents  about  tlie  shij), 
and  that  his  rehitions  with  certain  nicn  in 
the  town  gave  color  to  the  suspicion  that  he 
was  the  ringleader  in  the  })lot.  ilopkiiis 
therefore  placed  him  under  arrest,  and  on 
the  third  day  of  April,  1777,  he  was  tried  by 
court  martial  held  on  board  the  '"Provi- 
dence^' then  lying  near  Fields  Point,  in 
Providence  River,  for  circulating  a  "  scurril- 
ous paper  or  papers  signed  by  him  and  sent 
away  in  a  private  manner  againNt  the  Com- 
mander in  Chief." 

This  Court  consisted  of  Captains  Abra- 
ham Whipple,  John  B.  Hopkins,  Moystead 
Hacker,  Jonathan  Pitcher,  Silas  Uevoll  and 
Joseph  Hardy,  and  Lieutenants  William 
Grinnell,  Robert  Adamson,  William  Barron, 
Philip  Brown,  Adam  W.  Thaxter,  Seth 
Chapin'  and  Edward  lUn'ke.  The  Court 
organized  with  Abraham  Whipple  president, 
and   Marvin  was  presented  and  asked   if  he 


'Seth  Chapin,  was  the  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Abigail  (E'erry) 
Chapin,  and  was  born  in  Mendon,  Mass  .  March  31,  1746.  He 
married  for  his  first  wife  Elizabeth  Rawson.  of  Mendon.  October 
27,  1767;  she  died,  November  17,  177S.  On  October  19.  17S0. 
he  married  Eunice  Thompson,  of  Medway.  Mass.  He  had  nine 
children,  four  sons  and  five  daughters.  From  17S6  to  1S04,  he 
held  the  office  of  town  clerk  of  .Mendon,  and  was  a  Deacon  in  the 
Congregational  Church. 


2oS  ESEK  UOPKIXS 

was  ready  for  tiial.  Upon  answering  "Yes, 
—  I  am  ready"  he  was  then  sworn  and  exam- 
ined as  follows: 

Capt  Whipple  Q.  "  Did  you  ever  Sign 
any  paper  or  Petition  against  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief or  against  any  oiificer  in  the 
Fleet  to  be  sent  to  Congress 

A.     Yes— 


During  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  Seth  Chapin  served  with  dis- 
tinction. He  was  corporal  in  Captain  John  Albees'  company, 
which  marched  on  the  Lexington  alarm  April  19,  1775,  from 
.Mendon  to  Roxbury,  and  served  nine  days. 

December  10.  1775,  he  was  a  corporal  in  Captain  Job  Taylor's 
company  of  Colonel  Joseph  Reads  regiment. 

July  9,  1776,  he  was  second  Lieutenant  in  Captain  Samuel  Crag- 
in's  First  Company  of  the  Third  Worcester  County  regiment. 
Previous  to  this,  on  June  24,  1776,  he  was  appointed  Second 
Lieutenant  of  Marines  on  board  the  ship  "'Providence  "  and  on 
September  14,  1776,  he  was  ordered  to  Plymouth,  Mass.,  to  enlist 
men  for  the  navy. 

He  did  not  serve  long  in  the  marine  corps,  for  in  the  same  year, 
he  served  as  First  Lieutenant  of  Wood's  Regiment  of  the  Massachu- 
setts militia.  On  December  8,  1776.  he  was  commissioned  Lieu- 
tenant in  Captain  Samuel  Cragin's  Company,  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Nathan  Tyler's  regiment;  he  was  discharged,  Januajj' 21,  1777. 
July  10,  1777.  he  was  First  Lieutenant  in  Colonel  Sherburn's 
additional  continental  regiment  which  commission  he  resigned 
April  ig,  1780. 

His  most  daring  exploit  was  on  the  night  of  December  17,  1778, 
when,  in  a  small  boat  with  six  men.  he  captured  a  British  brig  in 
the  Seaconnet  river.  He  also  carried  on  secret  communication 
with  Isaac  Barker,  a  farmer  in  Middlctown,  R.  L,  while  the  British 
held  possession  of  Newport  and  the  island  of  Rhode  Island.  Bar- 
ker, who  was  a  staunch  patriot,  lived  at  his  home  in  Middletown, 
and  was  in  the  midst  of  the   British  forces,  indeed  British  ofificers 


]-toiii  III,-  pii 


SETH   CHAl'IN. 

1  llilTENANT   OK    MA' 
/•I'SSi'Ssiflll  it/ /lis  g'riill  i.  '  .(  '/./  •'.-.  , 


/•..S7-.A'    //O/'h'/.VS  ^Qg 

Q.  Will  \()U  jiroducc  the  Copies  of  such 
Papers  as  )()ii  liave  Signed  and  Sent  to  this 
Court 

A.  They  are  not  in  my  possession  and 
if  they  were  I  would  not 

Cap/  Whipple  O.  Why  did  you  not  at 
the  time  you  sent  those  papers  inform  the 
Commander  in  Chief  or  Captain  Hopkins  ' 
of  it 


were  quartered  at  his  house,  but  by  signals  which  he  made  by 
arranging  his  bars  at  a  gateway,  he  was  enabled  to  convey  informa- 
tion to  Chapin,  who  w^as  located  at  Little  Compton,  R.  I.,  across 
the  Seaconnet  river,  which  was  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the 
Americans.  This  was  carried  on  successfully  for  nearly  fourteen 
months,  or  until  the  British  evacuated  Newport. 

P'rom  official  muster  rolls  it  appears  that  he  was  commissioned 
1st  Lieut.  19  July,  1777,  in  Capt.  James  Webb's  Co.,  Col.  Henry 
Sherburne's  Regt.  Rolls  for  Jan.  21  to  Aug.  21,  1778  ;  Nov., 
1778;  Jan. -Apr.,  1779;  and  was  ist  Lieut.  Capt.  James  Webb's 
Co.,  Col.  Henry  Sherburne's  Regt.,  for  July  and  Aug.,  1778. 
Roll  dated  at  camp  at  R.  L,  21  Aug.,  1778,  reported  on  guard. 
Lieut,  in  Col.  Benj.  Havves  Regt.  for  service  at  R.  L;  detached 
July,  1778  ;  engaged  Aug.  2,  1779  ;  discharged  Sept.  12,  1779. 
Roll  of  Capt.  Baker's  Co.  dated  at  Upton.  Served  as  Lieut,  im. 
i5d.  in  Capt.  Cragin's  Co.,  Col.  Hawe's  Regt.  at  the  time  the 
enemy  landed  on  the  Island;  ami  im.  I5d.  as  Lieut,  in  Capt. 
T.  M.  Baker's  Co.  during  Sullivan's  expedition,  in  177S.  ist 
Lieut,  in  ist  Co.,  Capt.  Phil.  Ammidon,  3rd  Worcester  Regt., 
commissioned  27  Aug.  1779.  Lieut,  of  3d  Worcester  Co.  Regt. 
(no  date).  Lieut,  in  Capt.  Phil.  Ammidon  Co.,  Nathan  'ryler's 
Regt.;  enlisted  27  July,  17S0;  disrh.-^rged  3  Aug.,  17S0;  marched 
on  alarm  to  R.  L  27  July,  1780  ;  commissioned  Capt.  in  Regt.  to 
be  raised  for  3m.  service,  July,  1780. 

'John  H.  Hopkins  was  at  this  time  captain  of  the  "  ll'iiriin." 
14 


2  lO 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


A.  Because  the  act  of  Congress  Says  we 
shall  quietly  and  decently  make  the  same  be 
known  to  our  Superior  Officer 

O.  Did  you  Sign  any  Paper  against  any 
other  Officer  but  the  Commander  in  Chief — 

A.      I  have  no  answer  to  make  to  that 

Q.  How  many  was  there  that  Signed 
those  papers  with  you  against  the  Com- 
mander in  Chief 

A.      The  Congress  can  make  that   known 

O.  What  was  the  reason  you  did  not  ac- 
quaint the  other  officers  in  the  Fleet  of  it  as 
they  might  have  Signed  the  Petition  or  other 
papers  which  you  have  Sent  to  Congress 

A.  Because  we  thought  they  were  not  so 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Facts,  that 
we  Sent  to  Congress  as  we  were 

Q.  Was  any  person  in  Providence  or 
within  this  State  directly  or  Indirectly  at 
that  time  knowing  of  any  such  Petition 
beincT  Sent  to  Congress 

A.     I  believe  there  was 

Q.     What  is  their  names — 

A.  Their  names  will  appear  to  a  greater 
Advantage  hereafter 

Q.  Who  was  the  first  promoter  of  draw- 
in<{  &  sendino:  this  Petition 

A.     I  cannot  tell  distinctly 


ESEK   J/OJ'A'/XS  T  J  J 

O.  Wcis  I  Icnry  Marcliant  Esqr'  consul  led 
in  drawini;-  this  Petition 

A.      I  am  not  certain  — 

Cap^  Jlopkins  Q.  What  was  the  Con- 
tents of  the  Petition  Sent  to  Congress 
against  the  Commander  in  Chief 

A.  The  facts  were  of  such  a  nature  that 
we  thought  it  was  our  duty  to  our  Country 
to  lay  them  before  the  Congress 

Comiuodorc  Hopkins  O.  What  Country 
was  you  born  in 

A.  I  was  born  in  England,  but  america 
is  grown  dear  to  me 

O.  Was  there  any  more  Signed  the  paper 
or  Petition  besides  Yourself 

A.     Yes  there  was — 

O.      How  many  do  you  think  there  was 

A.      I  cannot  give  you  a  direct  answer 

Capl  IMiipple  Q.  \\^)uld  you  tell  how 
many  Signed  it  if  you  did  know 

A.      If  I  knew  exactly  I  would 

O.  Will  vou  tell  the  number  that  you 
know  Signed  it — 

A.  Have  I  not  answered  a  Similar  Ques- 
tion put  to  that  already 

Capt  Hopkins     O.      \\  hat    did   vou   ever 


'  Henry  Marchant  was  a  delegrate  to  the  Continental  Congress 

from  1777  to  1780,  and  from  1783  to  17S4. 


2  12 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


See  in  tlie  Commander  in  Chiefs  Conduct 
tliat  gave  you  any  cause  to  Sign  and  Send 
any  paper  to  Congress  against  him  or  did 
he  ever  treat  you  or  any  Officer  on  board 
with  any  disrespect  to  your  knowledge — 

A.  Some  thing  that  I  thought  was  In- 
jurious to  the  pubhck  Wellfare — 

Coinviodorc  Hopkins  Q.  What  was  it 
that  ever  I  did  that  was  Injurious  to  the 
public  W'ellfare — 

A.  A  number  of  Facts  coming  to  our 
knowledge  which  we  thought  was  our  duty 
to  Submit  to  Congress 

Q.  Do  you  remember  what  the  facts 
were 

A.      I  do  remember 

Capt  Whipple  Q.  If  you  remember  will 
you  tell  what  they  were 

A.  Whenever  Congress  or  any  body 
authorized  by  them,  calls  upon  me  I  am 
ready  to  relate  the  Facts 

O.  Do  you  think  you  was  acting  in  the 
character  of  an  officer  when  you  made  & 
Signed  a  Complaint  and  sent  it  away  privately 
against  your  Superior  Officers — 

A.      I  think  I  was — 

Cap/  Hopkins  Q.  do  you  (personally) 
know   of  any  Fact   you   ever   Saw  that   the 


ESEK   HOI'KIXS  T  ,  ^ 

Coim-nanclLT  in  Chief  committed  which  nou 
have  siijned  and  sent  to  Conoress 

A.  I  refuse  answering-  to  that  until  sucli 
time  as  I  aj)pear  before  Congress  or  a  Com- 
mittee authorized  1)\'  them  to  inciuirc  into 
the  affair 

Mr  Adamson  l.t.  of  the  'W'cwnii'  was 
asked  the  following  Questions  : 

Cotnmodorc  Hopki)is  Q.  Was  you  not 
asked  to  Sign  that  paper  that  Capt  Grannis 
carried  to  Congress 

A.     Yes 

Q.     What  was  the  reason  you  did  not 

A.  ]\Iy  reason  was  that  the  hacts  men- 
tioned against  the  Commander  I  did  not 
know  to  be  true. 

CoDiniodort'  Ifopki)is  O.  Do  you  know 
any  of  the  facts  charged  against  me 

A.  You  w'as  charged  with  saying  that 
there  was  no  man  but  wdiat  could  be  bought 
and  tliat  the  Congress  was  made  up  of  Mer- 
chants, Clerks,  Lawyers,  and  Boys 

Q.  How  many  do  vou  Understand  Signd 
the  Petition 

A.      Hight 

Mr  ThaxUr  to  Mr  Marvin 

Q.  W'as  tlie  Cliief  mate  of  the  'Jf'ar- 
I'cn "    asked    to    sign     tlie     Petition    against 


^j.  ESEK  HOPKINS 

Commander  Hopkins  lliat  was  sent  to  Con- 
Q-ress 

A.      I  don't  know  that  he  was 

Capt  Whipple  O.  Was  there  any  Com- 
plaint Sent  away  with  the  Petition  against 
any  other  Officer  or  by  those  belonging  to 
the  '  Warren  ' 

A.     None  that  I  know  off — 

Capt  Whipple  Q.  Have  you  anything 
to  say  to  the  Court  in  your  own  defense 

A.      I  have  nothing  very  material  "  ' 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  this  trial  the 
Court  recorded  the  opinion  that  Marvin  had 
"  treated  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
American  Navy  with  the  greatest  indignity, 
and  defamed  his  character  in  the  highest 
manner  by  signing  and  sending  to  the  Hon- 
orable Continental  Congress  several  unjust 
and  false  complaints  against  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief in  a  private  and  secret  man- 
ner, and  also  violating  the  28th  29th  and  31st 
Articles  for  the  Regulation  of  the  Ameri- 
can Navy,  which  they  think  is  acting  beneath 
an  officer  of  his  station." 

The    Court    also     rebuked    him    for    the 


'  From    the    original    record    of    the  court   martial    in    Hopkins 
Papers,  vol.  3,  page  2. 


A.SVsA'   /JO/'/k/XS 


2  I 


insultinir  manner  in  which  he  had  conchictcd 
himself  before  it,  and  for  this  considered  him 
"  unwortliv  of  lioldiiiL;'  a  commission  in  the 
American  Navy."  The  order  of  the  Conrt 
was,  "that  Lientenant  Richard  Marvin  forth- 
with deliver  np  his  commission  to  the  Com- 
mander in  Chief — and  in  case  he  should 
refuse  to  do  it  that  he  be  put  under  immediate 
Confinement  until  he  comply  with  the  Re- 
solve of  this  Court." 

On  the  same  clay  the  findings  of  the  Court 
were  confirmed  by  the  Commander-in-Chief. 

Marvin's  career  in  the  American  Navy 
terminated  with  this  act.  He  had  received 
his  appointment  as  Lieutenant  on  April  30, 
1776,  and  on  April  3,  1777,  he  was  dishonor- 
ably discharged,  b^or  these  eleven  months' 
service,  much  of  which  time  he  had  devoted 
to  breeding  cHscontent  among  his  associates 
and  indulging  in  underhand  methods  against 
the  Commander  of  the  Navy,  he  afterwards 
received  a  pension   from  the    United   States. 

News  and  the  ])ost  travelled  slowl}-  in 
those  days.  More  than  a  week  before  this 
court  martial  had  convened  Congress  had 
suspended  Hopkins  from  his  command  in 
the  Navy,  yet  he  w^as  as  ignorant  of  it  as 
though  such  an  order  had  never  been  passed. 


2  l6 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


It  was  not  until  the  fifteenth  day  of  April 
that  he  was  notified  of  the  action  of  Con- 
gress, but  on  that  day  Daniel  Tillinghast, 
Continental  Agent  for  Rhode  Island,  at 
half  past  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Esek  Hopkins  a 
copy  of  the  order  suspending  him  from  his 
command,  certified  and  attested  by  John 
Hancock,  president.  Without  a  hearing, 
without  the  privilege  of  saying  one  word 
in  his  own  defence,  and  without  so  much  as 
the  formality  of  a  trial,  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Navy  had  been  summarily  sus- 
pended from  his  command  and  his  good 
name  had  been  assailed.  Such  proceedings, 
however,  had  not  been  without  precedent. 
Others  high  in  official  position  had  been  thus 
served,  and  others  were  destined  to  feel  the 
keen  darts  of  insult.  To  a  man  of  Hopkins' 
temperament,  who  had  for  years  been  accus- 
tomed to  rule,  who  was  working  earnestly 
and  fearlessly  in  a  cause  in  which  he  had 
enlisted  heart  and  soul,  the  action  of  Con- 
cress  came  with  crushing  force ;  a  weaker 
character  would  have  succumbed  with  the 
shock.  Hopkins,  however,  was  made  of 
sterner  stuff. 

About  the  time  that  Hopkins  received  the 


ESEK    no  I' KINS  ^  J 


formal  order  of  liis  suspension  he  also  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  liis  friend  William 
Ellery,  then  representing"  Ivhode  Island  in 
the  Continental  Congress,  in  which  he  ex- 
pressed his  regret  at  the  action  of  that  bodw 
To  this  letter  Hopkins  responded  on  the 
20th  of  April.  Notwithstanding  the  great 
injury  that  had  been  done  him  and  the  humil- 
iation which  his  suspension  had  brought,  this 
letter  shows  the  manly  spirit  with  which  he 
received  this  verdict  and  his  undiminished 
])atriotism.      Thus  he  writes: 

"  Providence,  April  20th  1777 — 
To  THE   Hon   Willm   Ellerv   Esq. 

Afejuder  of  the   Con  (I  Cojigrcss,  a/ 
Phi  lad  a. 

Sir  I  receiv'd  your  esteem'd  Favour  of 
Town  meeting  day  just  time  enough  to  get 
chose  a  deputy  for  this  Town, — had  I  re- 
ceiv'd it  a  Week  sooner  perha})s  I  might 
have  been  at  the  head  of  the  Prox — 

Altho'  I  have  lost  the  Interest  of  a  parcel 
of  mercenary  merchants  Owners  of  Pri\a- 
teers,  I  do  not  think  I  ha\'e  lost  it  in  the 
Major  part  of  this  State — I  heartily  wish  the 
Fleet  may  do  well  in  the  way  you  ha\e  di- 
rected   it — I    am    obliged    to    you    for    your 


2i3  ESEh'  IIOPKIXS 

advice  to  continue  a  Friend  to  my  Country, 
and  you  may  depend  I  shall,  should  I  have  a 
few  Friends  in  it — neither  do  I  expect  to 
remain  Inactive — 

I  can  assure  you  it  gi\es  me  great  Satis- 
faction that  in  my  own  judgment  I  have 
done  everything  in  my  power  (or  would  have 
been  in  any  other  mans  power  in  my  place) 
for  the  Service  of  my  Country — One  thing  I 
must  nsk,  and  shall  think  I  am  not  well  us'd 
if  it  is  not  granted — That  is  an  attested  Copy 
of  a  paper  or  petition  Sign'd  by  some  of  the 
Ship  'Wan-ens'  Officers,  and  perhaps  some 
other  men  to  the  hon.  Marine  Board,  or  to 
Congress — Should  it  be  in  your  power  to 
obtain  it  please  to  send  it  soon — if  not, 
please  to  let  me  know  the  reason  why  I  am 
not   to    be    allow'd    it — and    you    will    much 

oblige 

Sir 

Your  real  F"riend 

EsEK   Hopkins."' 

In  compliance  with  this  request  for  a  copy 
of  the  petition  which  had  been  sent  to  Con- 
gress, a  resolution  was  passed,  on  May  14, 
directing  that  a  copy  of  the  complaint  made 


'  Hopkins  Papers,  vol.  i,  page  77. 


ES/:A'    J/OP/'J/XS  ^,(^ 

by  the  men  oii  the  ''  Warren  '^  he  delivered 
to  Mr.  Ellery  for  the  use  of  Hopkins.  He 
repeatedly  requested  that  this  order  of  Con- 
gress might  be  complied  with,  and  it  was 
not  until  several  months  afterwards  that  he 
received  these  copies  and  learned  exactly  the 
charges  that  caused  his  suspension.'  Hop- 
kins remained  under  suspension  until  Jan- 
uary 2,  177S,  when  he  was  summarily 
dismissed  from  the  service  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  sometimes  stated  that  he 
refused  to  appear  before  Congress  after  he 
had  been  suspended  and  answer  the  charges 
made  against  him,  and  for  this  neo'lect  Con- 
gress  rebuked  him  ;  there  does  not  appear, 
however,  any  evidence  to  substantiate  this 
statement.  The  scheme  of  his  enemies  had 
succeeded,  he  was  no  longer  in  the  way,  the 
nefarious  plot  of  a  few  skillful  men  had  pve- 
vailed.  Smartino;  under  the  stino-,  and 
knowing  that  he  would  receive  no  considera- 
tion from  Congress,  he  determined  to  have 
justice  done  him  in  a  court  of  law.  He 
therefore  consulted  with  Rouse  J.  Helme,  a 
leading  attorney  of  the  state,  a  man  of  great 

'  The  last  official  letter  recorded  in  the  Orders  and  Letters  of 
the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Navy  is  dated  July  4,  1777,  and 
is  a  request  to  William  Kllery  for  a  copy  of  these  charges. 


220 


ESEK   HOPKIXS 


influence  and  activity  in  its  affairs,  and  it 
was  decided  to  bring  a  suit  for  criminal  libel 
aorainst  the  officers  who  were  concerned  in 
the  conspiracy,  with  damages  laid  at  ^10,000. 

This  suit  was  begun  by  a  warrant  issuing 
out  of  the  Inferior  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
of  Rhode  Island,  on  January  13,  1778,  direct- 
ing the  sheriff  of  the  county  of  Providence 
to  arrest  the  bodies  of  Roger  Haddock,  John 
Truman,  James  Brewer,  John  Granis,  James 
Sellers,  Richard  Marvin,  George  Stillman, 
Barnabas  Lothrop,  Samuel  Shaw  and  John 
Reed,  and  have  them  before  said  court  on 
"the  third  monday  in  June"  following. 

This  warrant  was  placed  in  the  hands  of 
Martin  Seamans,  sheriff,  who  subsequently 
made  return  of  service  on  Samuel  Shaw  and 
Richard  Marvin,  the  other  parties,  defend- 
ants, doubtless  being  without  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  court.  Both  these  men  gave  bail,  the 
former  presenting  Ebenezer  Sprout,  of 
Middleborough,  Mass.,  the  latter  furnished 
John  Brown,  of  Providence.  It  is  significant 
that  the  leader  in  the  conspiracy,  who  had 
been  dishonorably  discharged  from  the  Navy 
for  his  participation  in  the  scheme,  found  a 
sponsor  in  the  person  of  one  of  the  members 
of   the   very   committee    that    Hopkins    had 


KS/:k'   I/OPK/XS 


22  I 


charged  with  iiKilfcasancc  in  office,  and  which 
coniiiiittcc  it  was  alleged  had  instigated  thr 
charges  to  deprive  hini  of  his  command. 
This  case  was  heard  at  the  June  term  of  the 
Inferior  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  to  which  the 
writ  had  been  returnable.  Soon  after  being- 
arrested  on  the  libel  suit,  Marvin  and  Shaw- 
presented  a  petition  to  Congress,  represent- 
ing that  they  had  been  made  defendants  in 
a  suit — that  they  w^ere  without  the  means  to 
defend  themselves  and  were  jnit  to  much 
trouble  and  charge,  and  asked  Congress 
to  defray  the  expense  of  their  defence. 
This  petition  was  considered  by  Congress, 
and  on  the  thirtieth  of  July  an  act  was 
passed  giving  them  the  relief  prayed  for,  and 
on  the  next  day  the  following  letter  from 
Henry  Laurens,  president  of  Congress,  was 
sent  to  the  petitioners  transmitting  a  copy 
of  the  act  of  Congress  : 

"  Philadelphia   31st  July  177S 
Gentlemen      Inclosed   with   this   you   will 
receive  an  Act  of  Congress'  of  the  30th  inst 


"'In  Congress  July  30  1778. 

The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  petition  of  Richard 
Marvin  and  Samuel  Shaw  brought  in  a  report  which  was  taken 
into  consideration  whereupon 

Resolved,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  persons  in  the  service  of  the 


222 


ESEK   HOPKJNS 


for    defraying    the    reasonable    expenses    of 
defending  the  suit  against  you  by  Capt  Esek 
Hopkins,   together   with    attested   copies   of 
the  records  of  Congress  respecting  his  ap- 
pointment &  dismission   to  &  from   a  com- 
mand in  the  Continental  navy 
I  am  Gentlemen 
Your  most  obedient  servant 
Henry  Laurens  Presd  of  Congress 
P.  S.     inclosed  is  a  duplicate  of  the  Act 
of  Congress  of  the   30th,  which  if  necessary 
you  will  deliver  to  the  Inferior  Court 

Messrs   Richard  Marvin  &  Samuel  Shaw 
Providence" 


United  States  as  well  as  all  others  the  inhabitants  thereof,  to  give 
the  earliest  information  to  Congress  or  other  proper  authority  of 
any  misconduct,  frauds  or  misdemeanors  committed  by  any  officers 
or  persons  in  the  Service  of  these  States,  which  may  come  to  their 
knowledge 

Whereas  a  suit  has  been  commenced  by  Esek  Hopkins  Esq 
against  Richard  Marvin  &  Samuel  Shaw  for  information  &  com- 
plaint by  them  &  others  made  to  Congress  against  the  said  Esek 
Hopkins  while  in  the  service  of  the  United  States 

Resolved  that  the  reasonable  expenses  of  defending  the  said  suit 
be  defrayed  by  the  United  States. 

Ordered  that  the  Secretary  of  Congress  furnish  the  petitioners 
with  attested  copies  of  the  records  of  Congress,  so  far  as  they 
relate  to  the  appointment  of  Esek  Hopkins  l'"sq  to  any  command 
in  the  continental  navy  and  his  dismission  from  the  same,  and  also 
to  the  proceedings  of  Congress  upon  the  complaint  of  the  petitions 
a-,jainst  the  said  Ksek  Hopkins,  presented  to  Congress  through 
the  marine  committee  as  mentioned  in  their  petition." 


KSEK  nor  KINS  22  X 

With  this  substantial  backing  and  with 
tlic  effect  it  produced  the  defendants  came 
before  the  court  for  trial.  Marvin  and 
Shaw  secured  for  counsel  W  illiani  Chan- 
ning,  Esq.,  of  Newport,  then  attorney  gen- 
eral of  the  state.  Hopkins  produced  as 
witnesses  to  testify  to  his  character  and  con- 
duct men  eminent  in  the  community,  men 
who  had  known  him  for  years  on  shore  and 
at  sea;  they  were:  Capt.  Joseph  Olney; 
the  Rev.  James  Manning,  a  Baptist  clergy- 
man, and  at  this  time  president  of  Rhode 
Island  College ;  Captain  Daniel  Tillinghast, 
the  Continental  agent  for  Rhode  Island  :, 
Captain  Ambrose  Page,  a  sea  captain,  a 
member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  afterwards  Judge  of  the  Ad- 
miralty Court  of  Rhode  Island;  and  Stephen 
Potter. 

The  trial  of  this  case  occupied  five  days. 
Captain  Joseph  Olney,  the  first  witness  for 
the  plaintiff,  was  engaged,  and  in  his  ex- 
amination testified: 

"  Question.  Captain  Olney,  are  you  ac- 
quainted with  Esek  Hopkins  Esq,  character 
as  a  public  of^cer  &  a  private  gentleman,  if 
so  please  to  relate  his  character. 

Answer.      When  he  commanded  the  fieet 


^2  A  ESEK   HOPKINS 

I  always  looked  upon  him  as  a  commander 
always  desirous  to  serve  bis  country  &  in 
the  fleet  we  looked  upon  him  as  a  gentle- 
man 

Question.  How  lono-  have  vou  been  ac- 
quainted  with  Mr  Hopkins  and  what  time 
did  you  enter  the  service  on  board  the  fleet 
which  commodore  Hopkins  commanded. 

Answer.  I  entered  on  board  the  fleet 
under  his  command  at  Philadelphia  in  De- 
cember 1775  and  remained  there  all  the  time 
he  commanded  it.  My  acquaintance  with 
him  has  been  from  my  youth  up. 

Question.  Have  you  ever  heard  the  con- 
duct of  commodore  Hopkins  as  commander 
of  the  fleet  censured. 

Answer.  I  have  heard  his  conduct  blamed 
by  some  in  IMiiladelphia  &  in  particular  Mr 
Newman  and  Capt  Shaw  who  left  the  fleet 
at  New  London. 

Question.  Have  you  heard  that  the  public 
in  o-eneral  censured  the  conduct  of  Commo- 
dore  Hopkins  while  he  had  the  command  of 
the  fleet. 

Answer.  I  have  heard  him  censured  but 
by  them  that  I  thought  knew  nothing  of  the 
affairs  of  the  fleet. 

Question.     On  board  of  what   x'essel  was 


--^^     JR. o nr. i\ T   ^Hoplmii,^ •  £■<  •» ^L^ 

V-^Comllrrjorr    ol'  lli<-    .vSTHiRlfAN         Hem       fWw. 


From    an    original  print    in    '^  A  n    I inparii.il   lint 
A  iniriiii,  £rt:,"    l.onifon.   177 


Portrait  Plate  5 


ESEA'  NOPA'JXS  2  2^; 

you  an  officer,  and  was  you  with  the  said 
Esek  Hopkins  the  whole  of  the  time  he  had 
the  command  of  the  fleet. 

Answer.  I  was  Second  Lieutenant  on 
board  the  'Colujndus'  until  he  returned 
from  Philadelphia,  &  then  was  appointed  to 
the  command  of  the  'Columbus'  until  Jan- 
uary 1776. 

Question.  Did  you  ever  hear  Esek  Hop- 
kins Esq  speak  disrespectfully  of  the  Con- 
gress or  the  Cause  we  are  engaged  in 

Answer.     No." 

Rev.  Dr.  Manning  was  then  sworn  and 
examined,  testifying  in  reply  to  the  questions 
put  to  him  as  follows: 

"  Question.  How  long  have  you  been  ac- 
quainted with  Esek  Hopkins  Esq  &  what  is 
his  2:eneral  character. 

Answer.  From  more  than  seven  years 
intimate  acquaintance  with  said  Esek  Hop- 
kins Esq.,  I  have  had  the  highest  reasons  to 
esteem  him  a  man  of  honor  &  respectable 
character  amons^st  mankind  &  a  zealous 
advocate  for  the  cause  &  liberty  of  his  coun- 
try &  disposed  to  serve  it  with  his  best 
abilities. 

Question.       Have    you    ever    heard     the 


2  26  ESEK  HOPKINS 

conduct  of  the  said  Esek  Hopkins  as  com- 
mander of  the  fieet  censured. 

Answer.  I  have  heard  many  say  that  he 
ought  to  have  gone  out  with  the  fleet  before 
the  Enemy  came  to  Newport,  and  others 
justified  his  bringing  the  Ships  into  the  river, 
but  whether  they  were  quahfied  from  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  the  state  of  the  fleet, 
to  form  a  judgment,  I  am  not  able  to  say. 

Question.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the 
conduct  of  the  said  Esek  Hopkins  Esq  while 
on  board  the  fleet. 

Answer.     No" 

Daniel  Tillinghast's  testimony  disclosed 
another  point  of  the  libel  not  heretofore 
mentioned  in  the  case,  and  the  insinuation 
that  he  had  been  irregular  in  his  transactions 
with  his  men  regarding  prize  money  met 
a  prompt  denial.  Tillinghast's  testimony 
being  as  follows : 

"  Question.  Are  you  acquainted  with  Com- 
modore Hopkins  &  for  how  long,  and  what 
is  his  general  character  as  an  officer,  seaman 
and  gentleman  in  private  life. 

Answer.  I  have  been  personally  ac- 
quainted with  Commodore  Hopkins  above 
28  years  &  have  always  (  )  him  to  be  an 


ESEK  HOP  A' IX  S  227 

experienced  officer  &  much  of  a  gentleman 
in  a  private  character. 

Question.  Did  Commodore  Hopkins 
receive  the  wages  &  prize  money  belonging 
to  the  seamen  under  his  command  in  the 
fleet. 

Answer.     No. 

Question.  As  the  British  fleet  arrived  in 
the  river  &  at  Newport  was  the  fleet  under 
the  command  of  commodore  Hopkins  fitted 
for  sea,  were  they  after  the  arrival  of  (  ) 

British  fleet  finished  &  a  considerable  sum 
of  money  expended  on  them 

Answer.  I  having  a  personal  knowledge 
of  the  situation  of  the  fleet  at  that  time, 
know  they  could  not  proceed  to  sea,  and  a 
considerable  sum  of  money  was  expended 
on  the  Ships  after  the  fleet  arrived. 

Question.  Did  Commodore  Hopkins  ever 
call  on  you  as  Continental  agent  to  pay  off 
the  seamen  &  make  division  of  the  prize 
money. 

Answer.  He  did  &  I  paid  as  long  as  I 
had  any  money  in  my  hands. 

Question.  Do  you  conceive  the  conduct 
of  commodore  Hopkins  to  be  any  way  detri- 
mental to  maning  said  fleet. 

Answer.      I  did  not. 


2  28  ESEK  HOPKIXS 

Question.  \Miat  number  of  men  had  they 
on  board  the  ship  'Warreii  &  the  other 
ships. 

Answer.  To  the  best  of  my  knowledge 
about  iio  and  but  few  seamen,  among  them 
on  board  the  'IVarrcji'.  on  board  the  'Prov- 
idence' about  loo.  &  the  'Columbus'  about 
30.  the  Sloop  'Providence'  about  15  — 

Question.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the 
conduct  of  the  said  Esek  Hopkins  when  on 
board  the  fleet.  Did  you  ever  hear  his  con- 
duct censured  by  the  public 

Answer.  As  to  his  conduct  while  on 
board  the  fleet  I  never  heard  but  he  behaved 
as  an  experienced  officer,  nor  was  I  on  board 
to  see  his  conduct.  I  have  heard  him  cen- 
sured often  by  people  that  I  was  sure  did  not 
know  the  situation  of  the  fleet  at  that  time  " 

The  examination  of  Captain  Ambrose 
Page,  who  had  known  Hopkins  from  his 
boyhood  days,  was  of  much  the  same  char- 
acter as  that  given  by  others  and  was  sub- 
mitted as  follows : 

"  Question.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the 
character  of  Commodore  Hopkins  as  an  offi- 
cer, seaman  and  as  a  gentleman  in  private 
life,  please  to  relate. 


ESEK   HOPKIXS  ^on 

—  V 

Answer.  I  have  known  Capt  Esek  Hop- 
kins Esq  from  his  youtli,  until  he  com- 
manded the  American  fleet,  to  my  certain 
knowledge  his  character  as  an  honest  judi- 
cious commander  ever  has  been  esteemed 
amongst  the  gentlemen  of  tliis  town.  I 
have  also  known  him  in  the  W  Indies  on 
several  voyages,  where  he  was  much  re- 
spected by  the  merchants  of  my  acquaint- 
ance, &  I  doubt  not  but  every  gentleman 
will  allow  him,  a  sincere  friend  in  the  cause 
of  his  Country 

Question.  Did  you  ever  hear  the  con- 
duct of  the  said  Esek  Hopkins  Esq.  as  com- 
mander of  the  fleet,  censured  &  by  whom. 

Answer.  I  do  not  particular  remember, 
but  some  of  the  then  present  council  did  not 
justify  his  not  going  to  sea  on  the  expecta- 
tion of  the  British  fleet  taking  possession  of 
Newport, 

Question,  Are  you  acquainted  with  the 
■conduct  of  Esek  Hopkins  Esq.  while  com- 
mander &  on  board  the  fleet. 

Answer.     No. 

Question.  As  you  was  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  upper  house  of  Assembly  when 
commodore  Hopkins  requested  the  advice 
of  the  Committee  who  acted  in  the  recess  of 


2^0  ESEK  HOPK/XS 

the  General  Assembly,  what  was  to  be  done 
with  the  fleet  under  his  command  as  the 
British  fleet  then  a  vast  deal  superior  in 
numbers  &  force  were  approaching  what 
was  the  answer  given  b}^  Commodore  Hop- 
kins. 

Answer.  As  near  as  I  remember,  was 
this.  His  orders  was  on  his  being  fitted  & 
manned  to  go  on  a  second  expedition  there- 
fore could  not  proceed  to  Boston  as  we  ad- 
vised, but  if  he  could  take  any  measures  to 
man  his  fleet;  would  immediately  proceed 
to  Sea  " 

In  concluding  the  evidence  in  the  case 
for  the  plaintiff  Stephen  Potter  made  the 
following  deposition  in  open  court: 

"  The  deposition  of  Stephen  Potter  Esq 
duly  sworn  saith  that  he  had  been  acquainted 
with  Commodore  Hopkins  &  that  he  the 
Said  Hopkins  hath  borne  the  character  of 
an  honest  man  as  far  as  I  ever  knew  or 
heard,  &  I  have  been  acquainted  with  him 
for  near  twenty  years  &  I  never  heard  him 
charged  with  any  thing  criminal  that  dis- 
qualifies him  in  my  opinion  from  serving  in 
any  station  whatever.  I  have  heard  some 
persons  fault  him  in  some  matters,  that  when 
they  had  done,   I  concluded  they  were   not 


ESEK   //O/'k'IXS  T  ,  J 

judges  of;  they  were  matters  of  his  staying 
in  Providence  river  with  the  fleet." 

The  depositions  of  the  three  officers  wlio 
had  first  warned  Hopkins  of  the  conspiracy 
were  also  submitted. 

The  defendants  rehed  almost  entirely  for 
their  case  ui)on  the  jjroceedings  in  Con- 
gress. Full  copies  of  all  the  acts  of  Con- 
gress relative  to  Hopkins'  connections  with 
the  navy  had  been  transmitted  by  the  secre- 
tary of  that  body,  as  well  as  copies  of  letters 
from  President  John  Hancock  and  others, 
to  the  Commander;  there  were  also  the 
depositions  of  the  officers  and  men  on  the 
''IVan'cii''  who  had  signed  the  j)etition  to 
Congress  against  Hopkins,  as  well  as  copies 
of  the  petition  and  complaint  itself.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  depositions  of  the  officers  of 
the  " /frtT/r;/ "  heretofore  presented  in  the 
narration  of  the  events  leading  uj)  to  this 
point,  there  were  submitted  to  the  court 
those  of  Sellers,  Mar\'in,  Stillman.  Pothroj^, 
Brewer  and  Truman,  and,  that  an  impartial 
review  of  the  case  may  be  made,  they  are 
here  given. 

These  depositions  accompanied  the  j^eti- 
tion  and  complaint  when  it  was  first  sent  to 
Congress,  and  were  as  follows : 


^^o  ESEK  HOPKINS 


"On   Board  the  Ship  'Warren' 

February  23,  1777. 

The  regard  which  I  have  for  my  country 
has  induced  me  to  write  the  following  accu- 
sations against  commodore  Hopkins  : 

First.  I  know  him  to  be  a  man  of  no 
principles  &  quite  unfit  for  the  important 
trust  reposed  in  him.  I  have  often  heard 
him  curse  the  honorable  Marine  committee 
in  the  very  words  following  '  God  damn  them, 
they  are  a  pack  of  dam.ned  fools  If  I  should 
follow  their  directions  the  whole  country 
would  be  ruined.  I  am  not  going  to  follow 
their  directions,  by  God.'  Such  profane 
swearing  is  his  common  conversation,  in 
which  respect,  he  sets  a  very  wicked  and 
detestable  example  both  to  his  officers  & 
men.  'Tis  my  humble  opinion,  that  if  he 
continues  to  have  the  command,  all  the  offi- 
cers who  have  any  regard  to  their  own  char- 
acters will  be  obliged,  very  soon,  to  quit  the 
service  of  their  country.  When  the  frigates 
were  at  Newport,  before  the  British  fleet 
took  possession  of  that  place,  more  than  an 
hundred  men  who  were  discharged  from  the 
army,  the  most  of  them  seamen,  were  willing 
to  come   on   board   the   ships   and   assist   in 


ESEK  HOPKINS  ^  ^ -, 

carryiiiL;  tliLMii  to  Boston,  or  any  other  harbor 
to  the  Eastward,  in  order  that  they  miglit  be 
manned,  but  Commodore  Hopkins  utterly 
refused,  being  determined  to  keep  them  in 
tliis  state,  from  wliieli  we  have  not  ])een 
able  after  all  our  pains  to  procure  a  single 
man  for  this  ship.  He  has  treated  prisoners 
in  a  very  unbecoming  barbarous  manner. 
His  conduct  and  character  are  such,  in  this 
part  of  the  country  that  I  can  see  no  pros- 
pect of  the  fleet  ever  being  manned. 

A  s  Ski.i.eks. 

"Ship  'JVarre'7i'  Feb.  24  1777. 
The  following  lines  contain  the  reasons 
why  we  signed  the  petition  against  commo- 
dore Hopkins.  We  consider  him  on  account 
of  his  real  character,  quite  unfit  for  the  im- 
portant public  station  wherein  he  now  ])re- 
tends  to  act.  We  know  him  to  be.  from  his 
conversation  &  conduct,  a  man  destitute  of 
the  principles  both  of  religion  «^  morality. 
We  likewise  know  that  he  sets  the  most  im- 
pious example  both  to  his  ofificers  &  men  by 
frequently  profaning  the  name  of  Almighty 
God  &  by  ridiculing  virtue.  We  know  him 
to   be  one  principal   obstacle  or  reason   wh\' 

'  From  a  copy  of  the  original  laid   before  Congress.     See  also 
Jlopkins  Papers,  vol.  3,  page  14. 


-7  -,  1  ESEK  HOPKINS 

this  ship  is  not  manned  &  people  are  afraid 
to  engage  in  the  fleet  through  fear  of  their 
being  turned  over  to  this  ship.  We  have  con- 
sidered it  as  an  indispensible  duty  we  owe 
our  country  sincerely  to  petition  the  honor- 
able Marine  Committee,  that  his  conduct 
&  character  may  be  inquired  into,  for  as 
things  are  now-  circumstanced  we  greatly 
fear  these  frigates  will  not  be  in  a  situation 
capable  of  doing  America,  any  service 

Richard  Marvin 
George  Stillman 
Barnabas   Lothrop 

Commodore  Hopkins  is  very  much  blamed 
by  people  here  for  not  destroying  a  British 
frigate  when  aground  a  few  days  ago  in  this 
river,  and  we  suppose  very  justly 

Jas  Sellers 
RiCHD   Marvin"  '' 

"Ship  'Warren''  Feb  24,  1777 
I  tlie  subscriber  have  heard  commodore 
Hopkins  say,  that  the  Continental  Congress 
was  a  pack  of  ignorant  lawyers  clerks  &  that 
they  knew  nothing  at  all.  I  also  have  heard 
him  say,  when  earnestly  persuaded  to  remove 

'  Hopkins  Papers,  vol.  3,  page  14. 


the  fleet  to  Boston,  being  in  constant  expecta- 
tion that  this  river  would  be  blocked  up, 
Tlie  ships  shall  not  go  to  Boston,  by  God, 

James   l^RKwriR  "  ' 

"Sim*  ']\\xrrcn'  hY-b  24  1777. 
I  the  subscriber  can  attest  that  our  com- 
mander Commodore  Hopkins  has  spoken 
very  abusively  concerning  the  Honorable 
Congress  calling  that  respectable  assembly, 
who  ought  to  be  considered  as  the  guardians 
of  American  liberty,  a  ])ack  of  ignorant  law- 
yers clerks  who  know  nothing  at  all 

John   Truman 

The  result  of  this  trial  was  unfavorable  to 
Hopkins,  for  the  jury,  seven  of  whom  were 
residents  of  Providence,  after  considering  the 
evidence,  brought  in  a  verdict  for  "  the  de- 
fendants and  their  costs,"  thereby  declaring 
that  the  defendants  did  not  "wickedly  mali- 
ciously and  infamously  conspire  together  in 
order  to  injure  the  plainlitT"  Notwithstand- 
ing the  prejudices  and  opposition  there  was 
against  him,  Hopkins  did  not  lose  the  confi- 
dence or  respect  of  the  citizens  of  the  state 


'  Hopkins  Papers,  vol.  3,  pajje  i-|. 
» Ibid. 


^36 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


b}^  this  action  of  Congress  and  the  findings 
of  a  jury  of  his  peers.  If  he  had  been  the 
unprincipled  person  that  has  been  pictured 
he  would  soon  have  disappeared  from  the 
stage  of  public  life  and  never  more  have  been 
heard  of;  public  sentiment  does  not  uphold 
such  men  ;  but  the  situation  was  well  under- 
stood by  the  people  of  the  state.  They  knew 
that  he  was  being  persecuted  by  a  set  of  men 
whose  influence  was  so  powerful  that  it  was 
wiser  to  disregard  it  than  to  antagonize  it, 
and  they  kept  their  own  counsel.  Congress 
had  revenged  itself  on  the  man  who  had 
spoken  carelessly  of  it,  and  Hopkins  had 
been  told  by  twelve  of  his  fellow  men  that 
no  injury  to  his  reputation  or  character  had 
accrued  by  reason  of  the  allegations  made 
against  him.  Thus  ended  his  troubles 
brought  about  by  his  connection  with  the 
American  Navy,  but  it  did  not  end  his  con- 
nection with  the  cause  in  which  the  colonies 
were  then  desperately  engaged.  Public  con- 
fidence in  him  was  not  lessened,  and  upon 
retiring  from  his  command  he  at  once 
enlisted  heart  and  soul  in  the  public  service 
in  other  fields  of  usefulness. 


CHAPTER  VII 

CLOSING    YEARS. 

IT  was  on  the  second  clay  of  January,  1778^ 
that  Hopkins  was  dismissed  from  the 
naval  service  of  the  United  States,  and  a 
career  which  promised  much  at  the  outset 
came  to  an  end. 

It  was  not  in  his  nature,  however,  to  remain 
inactive.  His  enemies  had  triumphed,  surely, 
but  he  was  not  without  friends.  His  towns- 
men recognized  his  abilities  and  his  patriotic 
motives  too,  and  at  the  sj)ring  election  fol- 
lowino^  his  dismissal  from  the  naval  service 
he  was  again  elected  a  deputy  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  from  the  town  of  North 
Providence,  which  he  represented  from  1777 
to  1786.  The  situation  in  Rhode  Island 
during  a  portion  of  this  period  was  most 
critical.  The  British  forces  held  possession 
of  Newport,  and  the  lower  bay  was  patrolled 
by  Ih'itish  war  vessels.  ?\Iarauding  parties 
from  the  enemy's  camp  frequently  descended 
upon   the   bay    side    towns,   and    a    state   of 


2  38 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


warfare  existed  which  kept  the  people  con- 
stantly on  the  alert,  and  the  militia  of  the 
state  continually  under 
arms. 

Soon  after  Hopkins 
took  his  seat  in  the  legis- 
lature that  body  appointed 
h i m  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  War,  and  this 
position  he  held  during 
the  entire  period  of  its 
service. 

During  the  years  of  the 
war  he  was  frequently  em- 
ployed on  various  commit- 
tees having  the  charge  of 
military  affairs.  Particu- 
larly was  he  active  on 
committees  appointed  to 
adjust  the  accounts  of  the 
several  regiments  of  the 
state,  and  as  late  as  1791, 
some  years  after  his  ser- 
vices in  the  legislature 
had  terminated,  he  was 
appointed,  with  Benjamin 
Bourn,  to  examine  and  ad- 
just the  claim  of  General 


ESEK    HOPKINS     SVVORU. 


ESEK  HOPKINS  ^-in 

Ezekiel  Cornell  for  his  services  durino-  the 
years  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  While 
a  member  of  the  General  Assembly,  in  1785, 
he  was  elected  Collector  of  Imposts  for  the 
county  of  Providence,  and  held  this  ofifice  for 
one  year. 

It  was  in  this  year  also  that  Hopkins' 
distinguished  brother,  Stephen,  closed  his 
career,  full  of  years  and  honors.  He  had 
been  in  public  life  for  more  than  forty  years, 
and  no  man  had  attained  a  wider  reputation 
ill  the  colonies  than  Stephen  Hopkins  of 
Rhode  Island.'  His  iniiuence  was  powerful 
from  the  very  beginning  of  the  struggle  for 
American  Independence.  Of  all  the  dele- 
o;ates  in  the  Continental  Congress  none  in- 
spired  greater  respect,  was  so  closely  followed 
in  debate  or  was  so  highly  valued  for  his 
opinions  as  Stephen  Hopkins;  yet,  after  he 
had  left  that  body,  and  at  the  monient  whrn 
all  these  influences  were  so  necessary  to  the 
future  of  Esek  Hopkins,  he  was  powerless  to 
extend  any  assistance.  Esek  Hopkins  un- 
doubtedly owed  much  to  the  influence  of  his 
brother,  not   only  in  ofificial  preferment   but 


'  For  an  exhaustive  study  of  his  life  and  character  see  "Stephen 
Hopkins,  a  Rhode  Island  Statesman,  by  William  E.  Foster, 
Providence,  Sidnev  S.  Rider,  1S84." 


240 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


in  the  example  set  of  patriotic  duty  to  his 
country  and  unselfish  service  to  his  fellow 
men. 

It  was  his  privilege  during  the  last  year 
of  his  service  in  the  legislature  to  nominate 
the  Rev.  James  Manning  to  represent  Rhode 
Island  in  the  Continental  Congress,  and  he 
was  elected  to  that  body,  where  he  served 
one  year.  Manning  at  this  time  was  presi- 
dent of  Rhode  Island  College,  and  the 
two  men  had  strong  attachments  for  each 
other. 

Esek  Hopkins  had  attained  the  ripe  age 
of  seventy-three  years  before  his  public 
career  terminated.  For  more  than  thirty 
years  he  had  served  in  various  public 
stations,  and  the  reo;ularitv  with  which  he 
had  been  chosen  to  represent  his  town  and 
state  is  the  strongest  evidence  of  his  ability, 
honesty  and  integrity  in  all  his  dealings. 

Not  only  had  he  been  called  upon  to  give 
of  his  talents  and  his  time  in  managing  the 
affairs  of  government  of  the  state  of  his  birth, 
but  his  wase  counsel  had  been  recognized  by 
the  institution  of  learning  which  had  been 
established  in  Providence  a  few  years  before, 
and  in  1782  he  was  elected  one  of  the  trus- 
tees   of    Rhode    Island     college,    afterwards 


ESEK'  I/O/'A'/.yS  T,  [ 

l^rown  Unixcrsily,  whicli  position  lie  licld  at 
the  linio  of  his  dciith.  Amon^'  the  students 
in  ihe  colles^e,  o-raduatin"-  in  the  class  of 
1787,  was  Jonathan  Maxey,  a  young  man 
from  Attlcboro,  Mass.  The  same  year 
Maxey  became  a  tutor  in  the  unix-ersity, 
and  served  until  1791,  when  he  was  chosen 
pastor  of  the  h^irst  Baptist  Church,  and  in 
August  of  that  year  married  Hopkins' 
daugliter,  Susannah.  He  subsequently  was 
elected  president  of  the  college  and  had  a 
distino'uished  career. 

Heart  Hopkins,  another  daughter,  was  a 
woman  of  great  culture,  and,  quite  in  ad- 
vance of  the  period,  took  the  regular  course 
of  study  at  the  college,  under  the  special 
direction  of  her  brother-in-law,  its  presi- 
dent. 

About  this  time  the  afflictions  of  old  age 
began  to  creep  upon  Hopkins;  he  partially 
lost  the  use  of  his  limbs  in  "consequence  of 
a  paralytic  stroke,"  so  that  he  was  obliged 
to  go  about  on  crutches.  On  the  fifth  of 
December,  1796,  he  was  still  further  afflicted 
by  the  death  of  his  oldest  son,  Captain  John 
Burroughs  Hopkins,  who  had  ser\'ed  so  gal- 
lantly with  him  in  the  Navy. 

Connected  with  the   feebleness  of  old  age 

16 


2.2  ESEK   HOPKINS 

tliere  is  an  incident  so  touching  that  it 
arouses  our  sympathies  and  brings  vividly 
before  us  the  heart  aches  and  sufferings  of 
this  venerable  man.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  durimj  the  proceedinc^s  in  Cono^ress 
against  Hopkins  no  one  took  so  firm  a 
stand  in  his  defence  as  did  John  Adams. 
We  recall  the  scene  between  William  Ellery 
and  Adams  when,  at  the  close  of  the  de- 
bate, Ellery  advanced  to  the  seat  of  Adams, 
and,  giving  him  his  hand,  thanked  him 
for  his  final  plea  in  behalf  of  the  Com- 
mander, and  also  said :  "  You  have  made 
the  old  man  vour  friend  for  life ;  he  will 
hear  of  your  defence  of  him  and  he  never 
foro^ets  a  kindness." 

Years  went  by,  and  Adams  was  called  to 
the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people  of 
the  new  nation.  No  one  watched  his  ad- 
vancement with  greater  interest  or  felt  a 
deeper  pride  and  satisfaction  than  Esek 
Hopkins.  To  him  Adams  stood  out  dis- 
tinct and  apart  from  all  other  men  in  the 
whole  land,  the  embodiment  of  manliness 
and  honesty.  In  the  time  of  adversity  he 
had  been  Hopkins'  friend ;  not  such  a  friend 
as  is  secured  by  the  enthusiasm  of  political 
strife,  but  a  friend,  earnest  and  sincere,  deter- 


•J.     ^ 


ESF.K  ijorki.xs  24-2 

mined  to  know  tlie  triilli  and  l)ase  liis  wliolc 
judgment  upon  it.  In  the  summer  of  1797 
Jolin  Adams,  with  his  family,  stopped  in 
Pro\idence  on  his  way  to  liis  Massachusetts 
liome.  It  was  the  first  o])})ortunity  tliat  had 
been  offered  to  tlie  citizens  of  tlie  town  to 
pay  their  respects  to  him  since  he  had  been 
elected  to  the  presidency,  and  great  prepara- 
tions were  made  to  honor  the  distinguished 
guest.  The  president  was  escorted  into  the 
town  by  the  Providence  Light  Dragoons,  a 
company  which  had  been  formed  some  years 
before,  and  his  arrival  was  signalled  by  the 
ringing  of  bells  and  the  roar  of  cannon.  He 
was  escorted  to  the  Golden  Hall  tavern, 
where  accommodations  had  been  provided 
for  himself  and  family.  ''  In  the  evening 
the  College  edifice  and  some  private  dwell- 
ings w^ere  brilliantly  illuminated"  and  the 
whole  town  put  on  a  gala  appearance.  That 
night,  while  the  president  was  resting  in 
his  room  with  his  family,  he  w^as  informed 
that  a  orcntleman  wished  to  see  him.  Leav- 
ing  them  he  went  to  one  of  the  waiting 
rooms  and  there  found  an  old  man  bowed 
with  years  and  infirmities.  It  was  Ksek 
Hopkins.  In  his  feeble  condition  he  had 
been  driven   to  the  inn   that   he  might  show 


2^1  ESEK  HOPKINS 

his  respect  and  express  his  gratitude  to  the 
man  who,  years  before,  had  stood  up  for  him 
in  the  hour  of  trouble.  Propped  up  by  his 
crutches,  his  eyes  overflowing  with  tears  and 
his  heart  filled  with  emotion,  he  thanked  the 
president  for  his  interest  taken  in  defending 
him  from  the  attacks  of  his  enemies. 

This  episode  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
Adams,  and  he  detailed  the  occurrence  in  the 
diary  of  the  events  of  that  iournev,  and  after- 
wards  wrote  as  he  recalled  the  pathetic  scene 
that  Hopkins  said:  "he  knew  not  for  what 
end  he  was  continued  in  life,  unless  it  were 
to  punish  his  friends  or  teach  his  children  and 
grandchildren  to  respect  me,"  and  Adams  fur- 
ther adds:  "  The  president  of  Rhode  Island 
College  who  had  married  his  (Hopkins) 
daughter  and  all  his  family  showed  me  the 
same  affectionate  attachment." 

There  was  a  social  side  to  Esek  Hopkins' 
character  that  was  as  pronounced  as  it  was 
interestinor  and  attractive.  He  was  fond  of 
the  companionship  of  young  people,  and  at 
all  social  functions  of  his  friends  and  neigh- 
bors he  was  a  conspicuous  figure.  He  is 
said  to  have  danced  well,  was  bright  and  en- 
tertaining in  conversation,  and  his  company 
was  always  enjoyed  on  account  of  all  these 


ESEK  HOPKINS  o  ,  - 

attractive  (|ualitics.  No  party,  ball,  or  sim- 
ilar <;at]icrini;-  was  tliought  to  be  complete 
without  his  j)reseiice,  and  only  when  impoi- 
tant  engagements  or  ill  health  prevented  did 
he  fail  to  be  numbered  among  the  guests. 
As  he  advanced  in  years,  and  sickness  pre- 
vented him  from  taking  part  in  an\-  such 
pleasures,  it  became  a  source  of  much  disap- 
pointment to  him.  For  a  long  time  previous 
to  his  death  he  was  confined  to  his  bed,  un- 
able to  move,  yet  possessed  of  all  his  facul- 
ties and  exhibiting  a  keen  interest  in  all  that 
was  o-oino-  on  about  him. 

The  last  days  of  his  life  were  attended 
with  much  suffering,  yet  he  calmly  awaited 
the  end  with  marked  ])atience  and  quiet 
resio:nation.  On  the  evening  of  Fridav,  heb- 
ruary  26,  1S02,  the  long  and  useful  life  of 
this  venerable  man  came  to  an  end.  On  the 
following  Tuesday  (March  2I  his  body  was 
borne  to  the  little  God's  Acre  on  the  home- 
stead farm,  follow^ed  bv  a  large  number  of 
"affectionate  relatives  and  friends." 

His  death  was  mourned  by  the  people  ot 
the  state,  to  whom  he  had  become  endeared 
by  his  years  of  active  public  service.  Some 
idea  of  the  otimation  in  which  he  was  held 
by  his  fellow  men    may  be  derived  from   the 


246 


ESEK   HOPKINS 


following  announcement  of  his  death,  pub- 
lished in  the  Providence  Gazette,  on  March 
6,  1802  : 

"  On  Friday  the  26th  ult.  at  his  residence 
in  North  Providence,  Esek  Hopkins,  Esq. ; 
in  the  S4th  year  of  his  age.  His  remains 
were  on  Tuesday  last  followed  to  the  grave 
by  a  respectable  concourse  of  affectionate 
relatives  and  friends.      Throuoh  the  different 


» 


stages  of  a  long  life,  the  character  of  this 
gentleman  was  uniformly  distinguished  by 
an  energetic  mind,  and  a  steadiness  of  prin- 
ciple, which  age  and  infirmity  were  unable 
to  impair.  A  genuine  fortitude  of  mind,  a 
lively  sensibility  of  heart,  and  an  immovable 
adherence  to  integrity  were  his  general  char- 
acteristics. With  patience  and  resignation 
he  continued  to  sustain  the  afflictions  of  dis- 
ease, till  he  calmly  resigned  his  life,  while 
the  as^onies  of  death  could  not  extort  a  oroan. 
In  him  his  children  have  lost  an  affectionate 
parent,  society  a  worthy  member  and  his 
country  an  inflexible  patriot.  In  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  he  stood  forth  in  the  perils 
and  hardships  of  war.  He  was  honored  with 
the  command  of  the  first  naval  expedition 
equipped  by  the  Continental  Congress,  and 
was  the  first  who  dared  to  unfurl  the  American 


fhig  in  defiance  of  a  powerful  foe.  The 
duties  of  many  imj)oiiant  offices  were  l)y  bis 
fellow  citizens  confided  to  liim,  of  which  he 
acquitted  himself  with  reputation  and  aljih'ty. 
In  the  Lesiislature  of  the  State  he  lonii'  sus- 
tained  a  seat,  and  was  a  member  thereof  at 
the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  federal  consti- 
tution, which  he  then  strenuously  advocated, 
and  has  uniformly  continued  to  support." 

Of  the  ten  children'  born  to  Esek  and 
Desire  Hopkins,  five  were  sons  and  five 
daughters;  all  of  his  sons  died  before  him, 
while  all  the  daughters  survived  their  father. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  September  previous  to 
his  death  Hopkins  executed  his  will,  gener- 
ously remembering  his  children  and  grand- 
children and  amply  providing  for  their  future 
welfare.  He  left  little  personal  estate,  which 
consisted  mostly  of  household  furniture,  cattle 


'  The  ten  children  of  Esek  and  Desire  Hopkins  were  : 
John  Burroughs  Hopkins,  b.  Aug.  25.  1742  ;  d.  Dec.  5,  171)6. 
Heart,  b.  Sept.  i,  1744;   <J-  July  n,  1825. 
Abigail,  b.  Oct.  25,  1746;  d.  April  25,  1S21 
Samuel,  b.  Feby.  ig,  T748;  d.  .Sept.  22,  1750. 
Amey,  b.  Jan.  26,  1751;  d.  Dec.  14.   1835. 
Stephen,  b.  March  6,  1753;  d.  July  3    1761. 

Susanna,  b.   May  10,  1756;  d.  1803. 

Esek,  b.  June  g.  1758;  d.  i777- 

.Samuel,  b.  d.  Dec.  1782. 

Desire,  b.  May  17,  1764;  d.  .M.iy  20,  1S43. 


248 


ESEK   HOl'KJNS 


and  farm  implements,  but  his  holdings  of  real 
estate  covered  more  than  two  hundred  acres 
in  the  neiQ:hborhood  of  his  homestead.  To 
his  three  daughters,  Heart,  Desire  and 
Susanna,  he  bequeathed  the  mansion  house 
where  he  had  lived  so  long.  This  house  is 
situated  in  Providence  on  Admiral  street, 
named  in  Hopkins'  honor  many  years  ago. 
It  still  remains  in  the  possession  of  one  of 
his  descendants,  beino-  now  owned  bv  Mrs. 
Frederick  L.  Gould,  of  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts, a  great  great  granddaughter. 

Originally  it  was  a  two  story  gambrel  roof 
house,  not  an  elaborate  or  imposing  struc- 
ture, but  from  time  to  time  additions  have 
been  made  until  now  it  is  full  of  quaint  cor- 
ners and  little  ells.  The  old  well,  with  its 
substantial  well  house  in  the  rear  of  the 
kitchen,  yet  supplies  water  for  the  household 
as  clear  and  sparkling  as  it  was  when  Esek 
Hopkins  first  came  there  to  dwell.  Nearly  a 
mile  awa)^  to  the  northward  is  the  graveyard 
where  the  remains  of  the  distinguished  Com- 
mander lie  buried  with  others  of  his  kindred. 
This  tract  of  land,  or  as  it  was  called,  "the 
burying  place,"  was  con\'eyed  '  to  the  town 


'  Pawtucket  Record  of  Deeds.  Book  2,  page  377. 


ESKh'   IIOI'KIXS  ,  ,g 

of  North  Providence  by  Ksek  1  lopkins.  on 
September  20,  1791,  "for  a  bur\ing  |)lace 
for  that  use  only."  When  a  jxirt  of  Noith 
Providence  was  annexed  to  the  cilv  of 
Providence  this  burying  grouiid  was  brought 
within  the  city  limits  and  is  now  known  as 
"  Hopkins'  Park,"  i)roceedings  having  been 
taken  by  the  municipality  towards  this  end. 
A  bronze  figure,  heroic  size,  has  been  reared 
over  his  grave  through  the  liberality  of  a  de- 
scendant' and  the  municipality,  representing 
the  Commander  in  his  uniform  of  the  navy. 
On  the  pedestal  is  inscribed  this  legend,  pre- 
pared by  the  author  of  this  work  : 

ESEK    HOPKINS 
Commander  in   Chief 

OF    THE 
CONTI N EN  TA I.    N AW 

DuKiNc;  Tin; 

American   Revoi.l  i  ion 

From   I)i;c   22    1775    ro  Jan    2    177S 

Born    April   26    171S    Difd   Vv.w   26    1.S02. 

'  The  late  Harriet  N.  H.  Coggeshall. 


2^0 


ESEK  HOPKiyS 


It  is  doubtful  if  there  was  any  more  ex- 
perienced seaman  or  skillful  navigator  to  be 
found  in  any  of  the  colonies  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  American  Revolution  than  Esek  Hop- 
kins. He  was  then  a  man  of  mature  years, 
had  commanded  ships  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  comprising  merchantmen  and  priva- 
teers, and  no  American  ship  master  was 
better  known  in  foreign  parts.  It  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  there  were  other  ship 
masters  who  possessed  similar  capabilities, 
were  skillful  navigators  and  brave  seamen. 
It  w^as  not  these  qualifications  alone  that 
caused  Esek  Hopkins  to  be  selected  to 
command  the  navy  of  the  united  colonies. 

The  material  from  which  to  select  such  a 
commander  and  even  officers  for  a  navy  list 
was  scant  indeed.  With  the  organization  of 
a  naval  service  a  new  system  and  order  from 
that  hitherto  in  vogue  on  vessels  was  de- 
manded, a  discipline  strict,  almost  severe,  was 
imperative. 

The  ship  master  of  that  period,  as  now, 
was  an  autocrat  on  board  his  vessel,  but  there 
was  little  distinction  between  the  relationship 
of  of^cers  and  men.  The  forecastle  and 
quarter-deck  mingled  in  the  most  friendly 
manner. 


ESF.K   //OJ'A'/XS  2  ^  I 

The  officers  and  seamen  were  intimate 
friends,  neighbors,  or  associates  at  home,  and 
on  ship  hoard  continued  tlie  intimacy.  There 
was  a  discipHne  peculiar  to  tlie  sea  which 
was  firm  and  unyielding,  but  it  w^as  not  such 
as  was  expected  on  a  government  ship. 

When  a  navy  w^as  projected  this  element 
in  its  composition  was  a  subject  of  much 
concern;  the  colonies  never  had  carried  on 
naval  affairs  to  any  extent.  A  certain  ex- 
perience might  have  been  had  by  the  men 
who  had  served  on  the  colony  coast  guard 
ships,  but  the  life  on  these  quasi  government 
vessels  was  more  free  and  easy,  if  any  thing, 
than  that  aboard  the  merchantmen  and  ]3ri- 
vateers. 

Even  witli  the  military  forces  in  the  col- 
onies the  same  difficulty  existed  only  to  a 
lesser  degree.  From  the  earhest  days  of  the 
settlements  in  America  a  military  force  had 
been  essential  to  the  life  of  the  colonists. 

Trainings  had  been  instituted,  and  w^re 
followed  up  with  strict  regularity ;  a  certain 
proficiency  in  tactics  and  discipHne  had 
been  accomplished,  and  even  some  active 
experience  in  the  field  had  been  obtained  in 
the  Colonial  wars.  But  with  even  this  ex- 
perience,   when     the    military    force    of    the 


^-^  ESEK  HOPKINS 

colonies  was  called  into  the  field  there  was 
a  decided  lack  of  military  methods.  Disci- 
pline, too,  was  lax,  the  officers  were  selected 
with  due  regard  to  their  experience  and 
capabilities,  but  the  fact  that  they  were 
popular  with  the  men  and  companionable 
fellows  had  great  weight  in  securing  their 
appointments.  This  relationship  was  con- 
tinued in  the  camp  and  field,  and  officers  and 
men  met  on  a  common  level.  This  beino; 
the  state  of  the  military  force,  with  years  of 
organization,  it  was  important  that  in  organ- 
izing a  naval  force  that  some  one  skilled  as 
a  master  mariner  and  possessed  of  a  suffi- 
cient knowledge  of  discipline  and  the  gov- 
ernment of  a  body  of  men  should  be  selected. 
Of  all  the  available  men  for  the  command 
of  the  navy,  none,  it  was  considered,  com- 
bined so  many  qualilTcations  as  Esek  Hop- 
kins ;  at  the  moment  of  his  selection  he  was 
in  command  of  a  brigade  of  militia  and  con- 
ducting delicate  negotiations  with  the  enemy. 
His  appointment  to  the  position  w^as  a  dis- 
tinguished honor,  but  it  was  an  honor  which 
it  would  have  been  far  better  for  him  to  have 
refused,  and  accepted  one  less  important. 
His  lack  of  success  in  the  position  was  not 
entirelv  owinof  to  himself;  he  was  a  victim  of 


/'.•.SAA'    //O/'A'/XS  T  -  ^ 

-Do 

circumstances,  but  he  lacked  certain  essential 
qualities  that  constitute  a  commander. 

Cooper  has  well  said  :  "  There  was  no  lack 
of  competent  navigators,  or  of  brave  seamen, 
but  the  high  moral  qualities  which  are  indis- 
pensable to  the  accomplished  officer,  are 
hardly  to  be  expected  among  those  who  have 
received  all  their  training  in  the  rude  and 
imperfect  school  of  the  merchant  service." 

At  this  period  there  was  no  regularity  of 
system  and  no  standard  of  discipline  in  the 
nav)'.  "  The  irregularities  of  the  service,  it 
is  true,"  says  Cooper,  "  grew  out  of  the  ex- 
igencies of  the  times,  but  their  evils  were 
incalculable.  Rank,  that  great  source  of 
contention  in  all  services  in  which  it  is  not 
clearly  defined  and  rigidly  regulated,  appears 
to  have  created  endless  heart  burnings.  The 
dissensions  of  the  officers,  naturally  commu- 
nicated themselves  to  the  men;  and,  in  time, 
this  difficulty  was  added  to  the  others  which 
existed  in  obtaining  crews."  "  They  are 
jealous  of  him  "  alleged  Chaplain  Reed,  in 
his  complaint  against  Hopkins  to  the  Marine 
Committee,  and  he  sounded  the  key  note  in 
the  whole  miserable  plot  when  he  subscribed 
his  name  to  these  words.  Combined  with 
the  jealousy  of  the  officers  in  the  fleet,  and 


ry   r.    .  ESEK      HOPKIXS 

the  revengeful  spirit  that  pervaded  the  minds 
of  those  men  outside,  together  with  the  petty 
poh'tics  that  pervaded  the  Continental  Con- 
gress during  the  earlier  period  of  the  war, 
there  was  fuel  enough  to  start  a  fire  which 
no  one  could  tell  what  it  would  consume 
before  it  was  quenched. 

The  moral  status  of  the  navy  in  its  early 
clays  undoubtedly  was  not  of  the  highest. 
The  rules  of  the  service  provided  for  a 
chaplain,  but  it  was  not  until  long  after  the 
navy  was  organized  that  such  an  oflficer  was 
enrolled.  The  first  to  be  appointed  was 
John  Reed,  and  he  seems  to  have  been  more 
willing  to  lend  his  influence  to  underhand 
methods  against  his  superiors  than  to  pur- 
sue a  course  more  in  keeping  with  his  pro- 
fession. Some  light  is  thrown  upon  this 
condition  of  the  navy  and  the  character  of 
the  men  who  were  so  fearful  of  the  "  strange 
oaths  "  of  the  Commander,  by  the  following 
letter  which  Hopkins  wrote  to  the  Reverend 
Samuel  Hopkins,  of  Newport : 

"  I  received  yours  of  the  2C>th  September 
yesterday,  and  am  very  much  obliged  to  you 
for  your  address  and  advice ;  and  as  to  your 
complaints  of  the  people  belonging  to  the 
navy,  I  am   now  to  let  you   know  that   I  did 


ESF.K   IIOPKIXS  2^r 

not  entei*  into  tlic  na\y  as  a  divine  and  that 
I  am  not  qualified  to  act  or  give  directions 
in  that  matter.  The  Conoress  whom  I  serve, 
made  provision  for  a  chaplain  to  perform 
that  necessary  duty,  but  to  my  mortification 
I  have  not  been  able  to  get  a  single  man  to 
act  in  that  character,  although  I  have  apj)lied 
to  many.  If  you  know  of  any  one  that  has 
the  good  will  of  mankind  at  heart  sufficiently 
to  expose  himself  to  necessary  danger  of  that 
service,  should  be  glad  if  you  would  send 
him,  who  you  may  depend  will  be  treated 
with  due  respect;  and  if  none  can  be  pro- 
cured, I  cannot  but  condole  with  you  the 
depravity  of  the  times." 

This  letter,  too,  shows  in  a  measure  a  con- 
dition which,  it  cannot  be  denied,  was  all  too 
conspicuous  in  the  service  during  the  period 
of  which  I  write.  There  was  not  that  "high 
feeling  of  personal  pride  and  self  respect  that 
create  an  esprit  de  corps  and  the  moral  cour- 
acre  and  loftv  sentiments  that  come  in  time 
to  teach  the  trained  officer  to  believe  any 
misfortune  preferable  to  professional  dis- 
grace." No  more  brave,  patriotic,  and  skill- 
ful body  of  men  could  be  found  in  the  colo- 
nies than  those  who  formed  the  naval  list, 
but    those    highly    essential    qualities    were 


256 


ESEK  HOPKINS 


decidedly  lacking,  nor  could  they  be  ex- 
pected ;  the  fault  was  not  altogether  theirs, 
it  was  a  condition  of  the  times. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  Hopkins 
was  reckless  in  his  speech.  The  mariner  of 
that  period  was  often  more  expressive  than 
polite  in  his  conversation,  and  profanity  on 
ship  board  as  well  as  elsewhere  was  not  un- 
common. In  this  connection  I  am  reminded 
of  the  story  uf  the  Scotch  deacon  who  made 
a  voyage  with  one  of  the  members  of  his 
church,  a  bluff  old  sea  captain.  One  day  a 
terrible  storm  came  on  and  all  hands  were 
called  upon  to  work  ship.  In  the  excite- 
ment and  danger  of  the  moment  this  old 
captain  used  certain  language  which  greatly 
astonished  the  good  deacon.  He,  however, 
said  nothing,  but  when  the  ship,  after  a  suc- 
cessful voyage,  dropped  anchor  in  her  home 
port,  the  deacon  lost  no  time  in  reporting"  to 
the  elders  the  language  which  the  captain 
had  used  during  the  storm  at  sea.  In  due 
time  the  captain  was  called  before  the  church 
and  charged  with  profane  language  —  the 
deacon  reporting  what  was  said.  This  bluff 
old  sea-dog  opened  his  eyes  with  astonish- 
ment and  replied :  "  Bless  you,  that  wasn't 
swearing !      If    I    didn't    talk   that   way  in    a 


I-.SEK   IIOI'KIXS  o-- 

storm,  the  sailors  would  think  I  didn't 
know  my  business."  And  it  is  related  that 
this  argument  secured  an  unanimous  ac- 
quittal. Hopkins  no  doubt  had  spoken 
carelessly  of  the  men  who  were  controlling 
the  affairs  of  the  navy,  and  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  that  exercise  of  authority  was 
often  meddlesome  and  irritating  if  not  disre- 
spectful and  insulting. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  charges  and 
depositions  against  him  will  show  that  there 
is  nothing  in  them  that  can  be  criticised  ex- 
cept those  alleged  words  of  disrespect.  I)ut 
an  officer  who  so  far  forgets  himself  as  to 
use  language  disrespectful  to  his  superiors 
incurs  a  liability  which  may  seriously  affect 
his  whole  future,  and  so  it  did  with  Hopkins. 

This  failing  on  the  part  of  Hopkins 
was  used  to  o-reat  disadvantaoe  to  him.  It 
furnished  excellent  material  for  his  enemies 
to  base  their  attacks  upon,  and,  in  the  hands 
of  the  men  who  were  behind  this  whole 
miserable  conspiracy,  was  used  with  telling 
effect.  There  certainly  is  a  vein  of  humor 
in  the  statements  made  by  these  petty  offi- 
cers that  "we  know  him  to  be  one  princijxal 
obstacle  or  reason  wh\-  this  ship  {'IWirrcu  ') 
is  not  manned  6v:  ])eople  are  afraid  to  engage 


^-g  ESEK  HOPKINS 

in  the  fleet  through  fear  of  their  being  turned 
over  to  this  ship."  The  idea  of  sailors  being 
afraid  to  ship  aboard  of  a  vessel  whose  com- 
mander used  strong  language  is  a  unique 
one  in  marine  circles.  Hopkins  never  was 
charged  with  the  abuse  of  his  men ;  he  abused 
himself  the  most,  and  if  there  had  been  the 
slightest  grounds  for  this  charge  they  would 
have  certainly  taken  advantage  of  such  a 
condition. 

In  his  encounter  with  the  stranded  frio-ate 
"■Diamond''  there  appears  little  to  criticise, 
except,  perhaps,  his  attempting  an  attack  on 
her  in  a  small  sloop,  which  was  a  piece  of 
bravado  more  censurable  than  his  neglect  to 
do  so  with  his  ships.  Below  the  ''Diamond'' 
not  more  than  six  or  seven  miles  distant,  was 
a  fleet  of  British  war  vessels  riding  at  anchor 
in  Newport  harbor ;  almost  under  the  guns 
of  the  '"Diamond"  was  another  English  ves- 
sel ridinor  on  the  water  with  her  "anchor 
a  peak."  With  a  strong  west  wind  it  would 
have  been  possible  for  the  British  fleet,  upon 
receiving  a  signal  from  the  vessel  lying  near 
Patience  Island,  to  have  got  under  weigh 
and  arrived  at  the  scene  of  action  long  before 
the  American  ships  lying  up  the  river  could 
have  found   their  way  through   the  tortuous 


ESEK  nor  KINS  ^rq 

channel  soullnvard  in  the  face  of  tliis  strong- 
westerly  gale.  The  "  Diamojuf  was  as  safe 
from  the  attacks  of  the  American  vessels, 
even  though  she  was  stranded  on  an  island 
in  the  l^ay,  as  she  would  have  been  in  New- 
port harbor  under  the  guns  of  the  whole 
British  fleet. 

It  was  an  easy  matter  to  charge  him  with 
neglecting  to  capture  a  stranded  vessel,  but 
when  the  circumstances  are  taken  into  con- 
sideration it  will  be  seen  that  however  much 
Hopkins  might  have  desired  to  accomplish 
this,  there  was  no  hope  of  doing  so  with  the 
prevailing  wind.  Hut  there  are  grounds 
for  the  belief  that  the  stranding  of  the 
"■Diamond''  almost  under  the  o-uns  of  a  sister 

O 

frigate,  was  but  a  ruse  to  lure  Hopkins  with 
his  ships  down  the  river,  when  a  superior 
force  of  the  enemy  would  suddenly  appear 
and  destroy  them  before  they  could  beat  up 
the  windino;  channel  to  a  safe  anchoraoe  at 
Providence. 

No  one  knew  his  liniitations  better  than 
Hopkins  did  himself.  Repeatedly  we  find 
him  writing  to  his  brother  and  others  in 
Congress:  "  Whenever  you  or  the  Congress 
think  you  can  get  a  man  in  my  room  that 
will  be  of   more   service   to  the  cau>e   than   I 


26o 


KSKA'   HOPKINS 


can  you  have  my  leave,  and  in  justice  to  the 
Country  I  think  you  ought  to  do  it;  "  at 
another  time  he  pleaded  his  years. 

If  he  liad  promptly  resigned  his  command 
lie  might  have  avoided  the  complications- 
which  ensued,  but  such  would  have  been 
cowaidly,  and  no  such  impulse  found  a  place 
in  his  heart.  He  knew  that  he  was  becom- 
ing entangled  in  difificulties,  and  that  there 
was  little  hope  for  him  to  escape,  yet  he  had 
pledged  his  life  and  his  honor  in  a  cause 
which  he  loved  and  to  which  he  was  devoted, 
and  if,  in  the  struggle,  he  fell,  it  would  be  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duty. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  1865,  the 
town  of  North  Providence  celebrated  the 
one  hundreth  anniversary  of  its  corporate 
existence.  On  this  occasion  the  Reverend 
Massena  Goodrich  delivered  a  scholarly  his- 
torical address,  in  which  he  referred  to  the 
men  of  the  town  who  had  achieved  eminence 
in  the  nation's  history,  and  used  these  words 
— a  fitting  tribute  to  a  loyal  son:  "  Of  those 
whose  homes  were  in  this  town,  and  who  did 
bold  service  during  the  Revolutionary  war, 
the  name  of  Commodore  Hopkins  stands 
eminent.  Though  born  in  another  town, 
he  made  for  years  this  place  his  abode,  and 


^1A1L1•,  Oh  K.^KK  Hol'KI.N> 
In  Hopkins  Pakk,  Pki>vii)k;vce. 
/>'_)'    r/ico.  A/iic  Kiig^ii's  Kit  son. 


/■.■.SAA'    J/()/'/\/\S 


261 


liis  ashes  arc  niouldcrinL;"  witliin  its  IjoixIlts. 
It  were  su])LTilu()iis  to  j)raisc  him.  Ills 
valor  is  a  part  of  the  heroic  heritage  of  his 
nati\'e  State,  llis  name  and  Perry's,  who 
alike,  in  different  wars,  upheld  the  honor  of 
our  country  on  the  sea,  Jiave  given  our  little 
commonwealth  cause  to  glory  in  her  na\al 
warriors.  Voy  between  two  and  three  years 
Hopkins  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  navy, 
but  the  bitter  sectional  feeling  in  Congress, 
which  operated  so  much  on  many  an  occa- 
sion to  the  disparagement  of  New  England 
men,  finally  succeeded  in  oustino-  him  from 
his  honorable  position.  Ikit  by  this  act  our 
country  suffered  most." 


APPENDIX 


Portraits  of  Esek  Hopkins. 


There  are  seven  known  portraits  of  Ksek  Hopkins, 
the  earliest  being  included  in  a  group  painted  by 
John  Greenwood,  about  the  year  1770,  and  is  proba- 
bly the  only  life  portrait  extant.  A  full  description  of 
this  painting,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
was  painted,  will  be  found,  with  a  photograveur  repro- 
duction of  it,  at  page  28. 

A  mezzotint  portrait  of  Hopkins,  published  in  Lon- 
don, by  Thomas  Hart,  Esc].,  August  22,  1776, 
bearing  the  title  "Commodore  Hopkins  Commander 
in  chief  of  the  American  Fleet  Publish'd  as  the  act 
directs  22  Aug  1776  by  Thos  Hart,"  is  the  best  known 
of  the  Hopkins  portraits,  and  has  frequently  been 
copied.  'I'his  portrait  was  evidently  produced  to 
satisfy  the  demand  for  a  likeness  of  the  person  who 
had  so  suddenly  sprung  into  fame,  for  Hopkins  had 
already  become  a  naval  hero.  It  is  quite  likely  an 
imaginary  picture,  for  Hopkins  could  not  have  been 
in  London,  or  in  England  for  that  matter,  for  more 
than  a  year  previous  to  its  publication,  and  previous 
to  this  lime  he  would  have  attracted  no  more  atten- 
tion than  a  hundred  other  sea  captains.  General 
Henry  Knox  pictures  Hopkins'  appearance  within 
a  few  weeks  of  the  time  when  the  Hart  portrait  was 
published,  and  describes  him  as  "  an  antitiuated  figure" 
(see  page  134),  which  the  portrait  does  not  confirm. 


265  PORTRAITS   OF  ESEK  HOPKINS 

The  author  ventures  the  opinion  that  but  few  of 
the  engraved  portraits  of  celebrities  of  the  Revo- 
lution were  likenesses  of  the  person  they  jiurported 
to  portray.  They  were  produced  to  satify  a  popular 
demand.  As  evidence  of  this  compare  this  Portrait 
Plate  I  with  the  following  in  "Narrative  and  Critical 
History  of  America,"  Winsor,  Vol.  W. 

Israel  Putnam,  page  192,  which  is  reproduced  from 
an  engraving  published  by  C.  Shepard,  9  September, 
1775,  probably  in  London. 

Benedict  Arnold,  page  223;  a  mezzotint  of  this  was 
published  in  London,  in  1776,  the  same  year  as  the 
Hart  mezzotint. 

Benedict  Arnold,  page  448  ;  this  appears  in  "  Ges- 
chichte  der  Kriege,  in  und  ausser  Europa,  Eilfter 
Theil,  Niirnberg,  1778."  Compare  also  with  Portrait 
Plate  2,  John  Sullivan,  page  637;  this  was  also  pub- 
lished in  London,  August  22,  1776,  from  which  the 
copy  in  "Geschichte  der  Kriege  "  is  made. 

A  print  bearing  the  title  "  Commodore  Hopkins 
Commander  en  chef  der  Armej  :  Flotte  "  Portrait 
Plate  2  is  in  "Geschichte  der  Kriege,"  1778;  it  is 
evidently  copied  from  the  Hart  portrait  with  mate- 
rial changes  in  the  background. 

A  rare  print  is  in  possession  of  the  Rhode  Island 
Historical  Society,  volume  of  portraits,  page  90,  a 
copy  of  which  is  Portrait  Plate  3.  This  is  also  the 
Hart  portrait,  without  the  background  of  ships.  It 
is  inscribed  "  Hopkins  Commandant  en  chef  la  flotte 
Americaine."  Beneath  the  ellipse,  within  which  is 
the  portrait,  are  representations  of  the  two  flags  asso- 
ciated with  early  Revolutionary  history,  the  one 
bearing  the  injunction  *•'  Don't  tread  upon  me,"  the 
other,  "Liberty  Tree.     An  appeal  to  God  ;"  scrolls^ 


PORTRAITS   OF  ESEK  IIOPKIXS 


267 


jKihns,  laurels,  liberty  cap,  cannon  and  other  acces- 
sories, form  a  fanciful  border  for  the  portrait.  No 
information  is  obtained  relative  to  the  origin  of  tliis 
portrait. 

Winsor,  in  "  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of 
America,  Vol.  VI,  page  570,  note,"  mentions  a  p(jrt- 
rait  in  "  Nederlandsch  Mercurius,"  XXIII,  page  128. 
An  extended  search  has  failed  to  disclose  a  copy  of 
this  periodical.  Portrait  Plate  3  may  be  this  Dutch 
portrait.  If  not,  then  another  is  added  to  this  inter- 
esting collection  of  Hopkins'  portraits. 

A  far  different  portrait  of  Hopkins  from  these  is 
in  "Murray's  Impartial  History  of  the  American 
War"  (Vol.  11),  a  copy  of  which  is  Portrait  Plate  4  ; 
it  bears  the  title  "Commodore  Hopkins."  It  was 
engraved  for  "  Murray's  History  of  the  American 
^^'ar,"  by  R.  Pollard,  and  "  Printed  for  T.  Robson 
New  Castle  upon  I'yne."  Mr.  Pollard  is  probably 
responsible  for  the  features  depicted. 

A  ludicrous  full  length  portrait  accompanies  "An 
Impartial  History  of  the  War  in  America  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies  from  its  commence- 
ment to  the  end  of  the  year  1779  ;"  London,  printed 
for  R.  Faulder,  New  Bond  street,  MDCCLXXX. 
This  portrait  bears  the  title  "  Robert  Hopkins,  Com- 
modore of  the  American  Sea  Forces."  A  story  of 
Hopkin's  life  is  contained  in  this  volume  which  doubt- 
less originated  in  the  brain  of  the  author  of  it.  All 
therein  contained  may,  however,  have  ha[ipened  to 
Robert  Hopkins,  whoever  he  may  have  been,  but 
certainly  it  does  not  refer  to  Esek  Hopkins.  This 
story  is  contained  in  Admiral  Preble's  "Esek  Hop- 
kins" in  the  United  Servici',  Feby.,  iSS^.  Portrait 
Plate  5  is  a  copy  of  this. 


258  PORTRAITS   OF  ESEK  HOPKINS 

An  oil  portrait  of  Hopkins  is  in  Sayles'  Memorial 
Hall,  Brown  University,  Providence,  painted  by 
Thomas  J.  Heade.  It  was  copied  in  the  early  part 
of  the  present  century  from  the  Hart  mezzotint. 
Heade  was  a  painter  of  renown  in  Providence,  and 
numerous  portraits  testify  to  his  ability  and  profes- 
sional skill.  A  copy  of  this,  Portrait  Plate  6,  is  used 
as  a  frontispiece  to  this  work. 


NDHX 


1  N  L)  E  X 


Abacco,  loi,  105,  109.  113. 
Adams,  John,  72.  73,  75,  76,  77, 

S3,    157,    158,    159-    160. 

242,  243,  244 
Samuel,  72,  73.  161. 
Adamson,  Robert,  207,  213. 
Admiral  street,  248. 
Alamo,  battle  of,  31. 
Albees,  John,  Capt.,  20S. 
Alexander,  Mr.-,  91. 

I'hilip,  107. 
"Alfred,"  82,98,  107.  no,  115, 

119.   121.   124,  131,  133, 

134.   135.   139.  Jf'4,  17^)- 

177,  203. 
Ammidon,  Philip,  Capt.,  209. 
'Andrea  Doria,"  83,  loS,  122, 

134.  135.  177- 
Anjrell,  Thomas,  2. 
Anthony   Joseph,  59. 
Antigua,  126.  127. 
Antonio  Joseph,  138. 
"  Ariadne,"  177. 
Arnold,  Benedict,  3.  266. 

Khodes,  80. 

William,  3. 
Arwin,  Thomas,  117. 
Ash,  Lawrence,  106. 
Attack  on  New  Providence.  I13. 
Attleboro,  241. 
Avery,  John,  Jr.,  125. 

Bahamas,    118,    127,    133,    141, 

157,  162. 
Baker,  T.  M.,  Capt.,  209. 

Capt.,  209. 
Bald  Head,  164. 
Baptist,  Alexander,  138. 
Barker,  Isaac,  208. 


Barnstable,  1S6,  i()7. 

Barnwell,  John,  88. 

Barron,  William,  207. 

Bartlett,  Josiah,  165. 

Bayes,  Thomas,  106. 

Beears,  Daniel,  log. 

Beekman,  Barnard,  88. 

Bermuda,  6g 

Be van,  Evan, 108. 

Biddle.  Nicholas,  Capt.,  So,  S3, 

153 
Black  beard,  in. 
"  Black  i'rince."  82. 
Block  Island  Channel,  nS. 
Boann.  William,  107. 
"  Bolton,"  120. 

Boston,  142,  175,  176,  iSo,  186, 
197,  230,  233,  235. 

Riots,  31. 
Bourn.  Benjamin,  238. 
Bowen,  Colonel,  171,  173. 

Jabez,  146. 
Bowles.  John,  138. 
Bowman,  James,  138. 
Breed,  Joseph,  106. 
Brewer,  James,    181,    186,    197, 

22b,  231,  235. 
Bridgewater,  180,  187,  197. 
Bristol,  m. 
*       Bombarded.   56. 
British  tleet  withdraws  from  New- 
port, 139. 
Britl.  George,  121. 
Brown,  Allen,  Capt.,  171,   172. 

Elisha,  g,   14. 

John,  II.  33,  82,  I4(),  220. 

Jf)sei)h.  109    146. 

Montford,  1 15,  117. 

Moses,  II,  13. 


-/- 


/XDEX 


Brown.  Nicholas,  146. 

Philip,  207. 

University,  241,  268. 
IJrownel.  Samuel,  109. 
Burroughs,  Desire,  8. 

Ezekiel,  8,  80.  109. 
Buckley,  Charles,  107. 
Burke,  Edward.  207. 

".Cabot,"    loS,    113,    119,    120, 
121,  122,    123,    124.    131, 
133.  135.    136,    137.    13S. 
164,  176.    177. 
Cambridge,  24S. 
Canada    68. 
Cape  Fear,   164. 

River,  164. 

Henlopen,  100. 
Capes  of  Delaware,  100. 
Carey.  Frank,  107 
Carpenter,  Weden.  106. 
Cashinberg,  Peter,  138. 
Cattell.  Benjamin.  88. 

William,  88. 
"  Ceres,"  177. 
Chadwick,  John,  106. 

Quacco.  106. 
Channing,  William,  223. 
Chapin,  Abigail,  (Perry),  207. 

Ebenezer,  207. 

Seth,  207.  208.  209. 
Charles.  Thomas,  138. 
Charleston,  89,  97,  109,  178. 
Chase,  Machesan,  106. 

Samuel,  72. 
Checkley.  John,  Rev.,  19. 
Chesapeak  Bay,  95. 
Chopomisk,  6. 

Clarke,  John  Innes,  106,  146. 
Clark,  Thomas,  138. 

Thomas,  Senior,  138.         , 
Coates,  John,  137. 
Coddington,  William.  51. 
Coggeshall,  Harriet  N.  H.,249. 
Cole.  John,  26. 

"  Columbus."  82,  X09.  121,  122, 

129    130,  134,  139,  164, 

169.  177,  201,  225.  228. 

Committee  to  build  ships  secure 

officers.  180. 


Conanicut  Island,  66,  168. 

Connecticut,  72. 

Connor.   |ohn,  138. 

Cooke,  John.  106. 

Nathaniell.   services  during 

Revolution,  109,  t  10. 
Nicholas.  9.  28,  38.  44, 
64.  68,  79,  81,  119,  146, 
156  ;  requests  regiment 
to  defend  Rhode  Island, 
79  ;  requests  the  service 
of  General    Charles    Lee. 

79- 

Cooper.  144.  253. 

Cornell,  Ezekiel.  239. 

Court  martial.   Abraham   Whip- 
ple demands,  133. 

Cragin,  Samuel,  Capt.,  208,  2og 

Crandale,  Christopher,  106. 

'■  Cruiser."  164. 

Curtis,  John,  121,  13S. 

Cushing,  Edward  J.,  29. 

Darby,  Thomas,  138 

William.    108 
Dartmouth,    133,   180,  186,  197. 
Dashield.  Lavin.  107. 
Daye,  Reuben,  106. 
Deane,  Silas,  72,  73,  74,  83,  87, 

92,  97- 
Debate   over   proposition    for  a 

navy.  72. 
Delaware,  155,  178. 

bay,   177. 

river,  141. 
Dent,  John,  loS. 
DevoU,  Silas,  207. 
Dexter,  Abigail,  4. 

Gregory,  4. 

Stephen,  4. 
"Diamond,"  172,  173,  175,  199, 

200    258,  259. 
Dowd,  Thomas.  138. 
Downey,  John,  106. 
Doyle,  Thomas,  121. 
Drayton,  Charles.  88,  89. 
Dunn,  Benjamin,  108. 
Dwyer,  Anthony,  137. 
Dyer,  Eliphalet.  72. 

Samuel,  48,  49. 


INDEX 


■^72> 


Earle.  Jolin,  107. 

William.  41,  43. 

Ecling,  Kiulolph,  138. 

Ellery,  William,  159,  165,  176, 
185.  192,  217,  219,  242. 

Elliott,  Harnard,  88. 
Benjamin,  89. 

"  Kndeavor,"  116,  iig. 

England,  181,  265. 

Eslick,  Isaac,  exploit  of,  57. 

Estimates  ordered  of  cost  of 
navy.   74. 

Evans,  David.  121. 

Eveleigh.  Nicholas,  88. 

Examination  of  John  (irannis 
before  committee  of  Con- 
gress, 196. 

Eyres,  Nicholas,  Rev.,  8. 

"  Falcon,"  164. 
Falmouth,  iSi,  1S6,  200. 
Fanning,  John,  So,  106. 

Joshua,  109. 
Faulder,  R.,  267. 
Ferguson,  Mr.,  Sg. 
Field's    I'oint,     171,     172,     199, 

207. 
Fight  with  the  "Glasgow,"  120. 
First  naval  fight  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. 64.  66. 
Fisher's  Island,  135. 
Fiske,  John,  142. 
Fitzpatrick,  Lieutenant,  124. 
Flag  presented  to  Congress,  99. 
Fleet,  American,  names  of  ves- 
sels in.  82. 
sails  for    New    Providence, 

109. 
blockaded   in   Narragansett 

Bay,  169. 
part  of,  get  to  sea,  176. 
final    disposition    of    ships, 

177-. 

Fleet,  Ikitish,  arrives  in  New- 
port, 168. 

"Fly,"  106,  117,  135.  177. 

Forbes,  Thomas,  137. 

F^ord,  Benjamin,  138. 

Fordham,  Richard,  108. 

Fort  at  Fo.K  Hill  erected,  41. 
IB 


Fort  Johnson,  89. 

Fort    Montague   captured,    112, 

114. 
Fort    Nassau    capitulates,    112, 

114.  115- 
I'oster,  William  F.,  239. 
Fowler,  Stephen,  106. 
French  War,  129. 
Frisbie,  Abel,  108. 

Gadsden,    Christopher,    72,    73, 
74.  75.  76,  77.87,  88.90, 
Q2,  93-  97- 
letter  to  E.  Hopkins,  88. 

Gadsly,  'I'homas,  137. 

"Gambia,"  a  brig,  26. 

Gardner,  John,  14,  17. 
Savage,  66. 

"Gaspee."  32,  68,  172. 

Georgia.  72,  73,  103,   I54_,  165. 

"  Geschichte  der  Kriege,"  266. 

"Glasgow,"  120,  121,  122,  124, 
126,  129,  130,  132,  133, 
134,  141,  150,  166,  176. 

Gold  Island.  66. 

Golden  Ball  tavern,  243. 

Goldsmith,  Fphraim.  108. 

Goldtvvaite,  Thomas.  138. 

CJoodrich,  Massena,  Rev.,  260. 

Gosner,  Christian,  121,  137. 

Gould,   Mrs.   Frederick  L  ,  248. 

Grannis,  John,  180,  181,  186, 
188,  191,  192,  195,  196 
202,  204,  213.  220. 

Graves,  Mathew,   Rev.,  ig. 

Green  Mountains,  143. 

tjreenwood,  John.  28.  265. 

Grinnell,  William.  loS,  207. 

Hacker,   Hoysted,  80,  106,  207. 

,Jno  Lon,  107. 
Haddock,  Roger,  181,  t86,  1S8, 
192,  197,  204,  205,  22Q. 
Halifa.x,  203. 
Hall.  James,  138. 
John,  138. 
Barker.  106. 
Halladay.  Robert.  138. 
Hamet,  Charles,  138. 
"  Hampden,"  164,  i6g. 


2  74 


INDEX 


Hancock,  John,    125,    127,    133, 

152.  216,  231. 
Hardy,  Joseph,  109,  207. 
Harieston,  Isaac,  88. 
Harman,  John.  138. 
Harrison.  Joseph.  107. 
Hart,  Thomas,  265,  266,  26S. 
Hatteras.  106. 

Hawes,  Benjamin   Colonel,  209. 
"  Hawk."  120.  125,   162. 
Hazard.  Captain,  122. 

reheved  of   command   after 
court  martial    133. 
Heade,    IhomasJ.,  268 
Helnie,   Rouse  J.    219. 
Hewes,  Joseph.    75,    87,  92,  97, 

150. 
Hinman,  Elisha,  108,  119 
Hoadley,      Hon.      Charles     J., 

82. 
Holbrook,  Albert.  3. 
Honeyman,  James,  Rev.,  19. 
Hooper,  William.  165. 
"  Hopkins,"  163. 
Hopkins,  Abigail,  247. 
Hopkins,  Amey,   247. 
Hopkins,  Catherine,  34. 
Hopkins,  Christopher,  30. 
Hopkins,  Desire,  247,  248. 
Hopkins,  Esek,  birth  of,  7. 

sails  for  .Surinam,  7. 

marriage  of,  8 

propounded  a  freeman,  8. 

takes  oath  of  fidelity,  8. 

of  school  committee,  8. 

captures  a  snow.  11. 

at  i\evv  I'rovidence,  11. 

purchases  a  farm,  12. 

shop  keeper,  12. 

takes    Edward    Abbey    ap- 
prentice. 13. 

director  of  lottery,  13. 

enters  politics,  15. 

elected  to  general  assembly, 
15,  25.  27,  237. 

issues  an  open  letter,  75. 

attacks  George    1  aylor.  20. 

signs  circular  letter  against 
Henry  Ward,  24. 

resigns  oftice,  26. 


Hopkins,    Esek,    arrives  on   the- 
coast  of  .Africa,  26. 

reported  from  Surinam,  27. 

reported  at  .'^urinam,  27. 

has  portrait  painted,  2S. 

deputy    from    North    Prov- 
idence, 30. 

a   committee   to   build    Fox 
Hill  fort.  41,  43. 

appointed  Brigadier  General, 
44 

establishes     military     head- 
quarters, 45. 

directed     to     negotiate     for 
raising  blockade,  46. 

letter  to  Newport.  49.  51. 

to  apprehend  George  Rome, 
52. 

takes  possession  of  estates  in 
Newport,  56 

authorized  to  appoint  a  sec- 
retary   59. 

of  committee  of  inspection, 
60. 

selected    as   Commander  of 
the  Navy.  77. 

an    "experienced   and   ven- 
erable sea  captain,"  77. 

notified  of  his  appointment 
in  the  navy,  77. 

receives     letter     from      his 
brother  Stephen,  78. 

receives    notice   of   his   ap- 
pointment in  the  navy,  79. 

confirmed  as  Commander  of 
Navy,  80. 

rank  in  Navy  to  be  same  as 
Washington  in  Army,  80. 

sails  for  Philadelphia,  81. 

orders    from     Naval     Com- 
mittee, 84,  94. 

letter      from       Christojiher 
Gadsden,  88,  92. 

devises  a  signal    93 

hoists  first  American  flag  on. 
a  war  vessel,  97. 

assumes  command  of  fleet, 
98. 

letter  to  Naval  Committee, 
100. 


/.wv-.r 


2/5 


Hopkins.  I-'.sek,  prepares  llecl 
sijjnals.  loo. 

issues  sailing  orders  to  cap- 
tains,  ICO. 

arrives  at  Abacco,  113. 

captures  Nassau,  113. 

issues  manifesto  to  people 
of  Nassau.  1 14. 

impresses  a  sloop.  116. 

takes  prisoners  from  Nassau, 
117. 

sails  from  ISahamas,  iiS. 

issues  sailinfr  orders  to  cap- 
tains, 1 18. 

captures  British  schooner, 
"  Hawk."  120 

captures  brig, "Bolton,"  120. 

attacks  H.  B.  iM.  ship. 
"  Glasgow,"  120. 

disapproves   use  of   liejuor. 

I2C. 

arrives  at  New  London,  125. 
receives   congratulations   of 

Congress.  126. 
subject   of   poetic    effusion. 

127. 
criticised     for     fight     with 

"  Glasgow."  129 
disposes  of  captured  stores, 

133 

personal  appearance  de- 
scribed. 134. 

arrives  in   Providence,    135. 

secures  men  from  the  army, 

135- 

returns  men  from  the  army, 
136. 

orders  "Doria."  and  "Ca- 
bot," to  sea,  1 38. 

makes  charges  against  com- 
mittee to  build  ships,  147 

ordered  to  Philadelphia.  152. 

appears  before  Congress  for 
trial.  154 

defence  of  his  conduct,  154. 

censured   by  Congress.   151;. 

ordered  to  command  of  fleet, 
160. 

receives  letter  from  John 
Paul  lones,    161. 


Hopkins.  I-"sek.  ordered   to  dis- 
patch    vessels     to     New 

foundland.    112. 
authorized    to    purchase    a 

vessel,    162. 
authorized  to  name  a  vessel 

the  ■■  1  lopkins."    163 
receives   a    letter    from    the 

Marine  Committee.  163. 
applies  for  an  embargo,  167. 
notifies    .Marine  Committee 

of  arrival  of   British  fleet. 

i6(). 
makes  attempt  on  the  "  Dia- 
mond."   171. 
describes    attempt    on     the 

"  Diamond."    173 
conspiracy  against.    1S7. 
informs    William    Iillery  of 

conspiracy    ig2. 
suspended  from  the  command 

of  the  N'avv,   203. 
learns  that  his  son    Ksek  is 

prisoner  of  war.    203. 
receives  confession  of    three 

conspirators,   204. 
orders     arrest     and     court 

martial  of    Richard   Mar- 
vin.  207. 
notified   of  his   suspension. 

216. 
sends  letter  to  \Vm.  Kllery, 

217. 
institutes  suit  for  libel,  220. 
loses  suit  for  liliel.  235. 
re-elected    to    CJeneral    .'\s- 

sembly,  237. 
elected  to  Council  of   War, 

233. 
appointed  to  examine  claim 

of  CJen    Cornell.  23S. 
nominates  James   Manning 

for  Continental  Congress, 

240. 
afflicted  with  p:iralysis,  241. 
visits  John  .Adams.  243. 
social  characteristics,  245. 
death  and  burial  of.  245. 
provides  for  his  children  bv 

will.   247. 


276 


INDEX 


Hopkins,    Esek,    name    of   chil- 
dren,  247. 
statue  erected.    249. 
portraits  of,  explained.  265. 

Hopkins,  Esek.  son  of  Commo- 
dore   Hopkins,   203,  204. 

Hopkins,  Heart,  247,  248. 

Hopkins.  John,  Capt.  6,  34. 

Hopkins,  John  Burroughs,  34, 
80,  83,  120  121,  166,  207, 
209.  241,  247. 

Hopkins  Park,  249. 

Hopkins,  Robert,  267. 

Hopkins,  Rufus,  147. 

Hopkins,  Samuel,  Capt.,  6. 

Hopkins,  Samuel,   247. 

Hopkins,  Samuel,  Rev.,   254. 

Hopkins,  Stephen.  Gov.,  14. 
15,  17,  23,  36,  72,  75,  77, 
79,  87,  92,  97,  147,  149, 
239,  247. 

Hopkins,  Susannah,  241,  247, 
248. 

Hopkins,  Thomas,  birth  of,  2. 

Hopkins,   William,    exploit    of, 

5- 
Hopkins,  William,  30,  34,    109. 
Hopkins,  W.,  Capt.,  162. 
"Hornet,"  91,  92,  106,  117,  177. 
Horry,  Peter,   88. 
House,  George,    107. 
Howe,  Tyringham,  122. 
Howlands  Ferry,    119. 
Huger,  Francis,  88. 
Huger,  Isaac,  88. 
Huntington,  Samuel,    82. 
Huts,  James,  107. 
Hyrne,  Edmond,   88. 

Insubordination    in     the     fleet, 

185. 

Jay,  John,    166. 
Jenckes,  Rufus,    107. 
Jennings,  Capt.,    133. 
Jestes,  Philip,  107. 
Johnson,  Peleg,    106. 
Johnways,  Joseph,    106. 
Jones,  John   Paul,   80,   98,    122, 
133-  136,  150,  161. 


Jones,  Robertson,   200. 

Jons.  Abel,    138. 

Josiah,  James,    108. 

Juan  Fernandez.  Island  of,  112. 

Kaine,  Patrick,   121. 
■■  Katy,"  sloop,  63,  81,  S3. 
Kean,  Tho.  M.    165. 
Kennedy,  George,    121. 
Kerr,  John.  108. 
King,  John.    138. 
King  Philip's  War,  3. 
Kingstown,  167. 
Knox,  Henry,  General,   265. 
Knox,  Henry,describes  Hopkins, 
134- 

Lamb.  William.    loS. 

Langdon.  Mr.,  74 

"Lark,"  203. 

Laughton,  sign  painter,  28. 

Laurens,  Henry,  221,  222. 

Leary,  Dennis.  loS. 

Lee,  Charles,  General,  79,  80. 

Lee,   Richard    Henrv,    75,   161, 

165. 
Letter     of     Congratulation      to 

Hopkins,  from  Congress, 

126. 
Letter  from    P'sek    Hopkins    to 

William  Ellery,  192,  217. 
Letter  from  John  Paul  Jones,  to 

Esek    Hopkins.    161  ;    to 

Joseph     Hewes,    quoted, 

150. 
Letter  from    Marine  Committee 

to  Hopkins,    163. 
"  Liberiy."  sloop,  destroyed,  31. 
List  of  officers  for  navy,   80. 
List  of  stores  captured,  115. 
List  of  killed  and  wounded   in 

"Glasgow"  fight,  121 
Little  Compton,  209. 
Little  John.  13S. 
,  Littleworth,  4. 

Log  book  of  the  "  Alfred,"  123. 
(  London. iii, 142,  265,  266,  267. 
Long  Island,  120. 
Lothrop.     Barnabas,    rSo,    186, 
I  188,  197,  220,  231,  234. 


INDEX 


-  I  I 


Lowndes,  Mr.,  8g. 
Lowry,  Alexander,  138. 
I^yon,  Sam,  206. 
Lynch,  Thomas,  Jr.,  88. 

Maag,  Jacob,  138. 
Magee,  Andrew,  138. 
Malljone,  Godfrey,  2(). 
jMaltbie,  Jonathan,  107. 
Man,  lienjamin,  13. 
Manning,     James,     Rev.,     223, 

225,  240. 
Marchant,  Henry,  211. 
Margeson,  John,  loS,  109. 
Marion,  Francis,  88. 
Marvin,  Richard,  181,  182,  183, 

1S4,    186,    188,    197,  205. 

206,   207,   213,   214.  215, 

220,   221,   222,   223,  231, 

234- 

Maryland,  72. 

Mason,  William,  88. 

Mawney,  John,  q. 

Maxey,  Jonathan,  24 r. 

McCloud,  Kenneth,  150. 

McDonald,  Adam,  88. 

McDonald,  James.  88. 

McDougall,  John,  108. 

McDougall  80. 

McFarling,  Robert,  138. 

Mcintosh,  Alexander,  88. 

McKenny,  George.  138. 

McKenzie,  Alex.  108. 

McNeal,  John,  109. 

McSorley,  James,  13S. 

McSparran,  James,   Rev.,  ig. 

McTee.  Matthew,  138. 

McWhoton,  William,  106. 

Medway,  207. 

"  Mellish,"  no. 

Members  of  Committee  to  build 
ships  in  Rhode  Island. 
145  ;  abandon  the  work, 
149. 

Memorial  to  Continental  Con- 
gress, 69. 

Mendon,  180.  207.  208. 

Middleborough.   186,  197,  220. 

Middleton,  Arthur,  165. 

Middletown,  45,  208. 


"  Miiford,"  177. 
Mills.  Robert,  138. 
Milton,  76. 

"  Minerva,"  privateer,  82. 
Moran,  William.  108. 
Morris,  Robert,  165. 
Motte,  Charles,  88. 

Isaac,  88. 
Moultrie,  William,  88. 
Murray's    Impartial    History    of 

the  .American  War,  2()7. 
Mumford.  I'aul,  59. 

Names  of  ships  built  in  Rhode 
Island,  147. 

Narrative   and   Critical    History 

of  America,  266,  267. 
Nassau,  112,  113,  114,  119. 
Naval  Committee  appointed,  74, 

I  ^5- 

I  Naval  Committee,  orders  of,  84, 

!  94 

j  Naval  fight,  first,  of  the  Revolu- 
tion,  66. 

Navy,   American,   origin  of.  69. 

Navy,  debate  in  Congress  over, 
72. 

Navy,  proposed,   74,  75. 

Nederlandsch  Mercurius,  267. 

Neptune,  127. 

Newbern,  77. 

New  Bond  Steeet,  267. 

New  Castle,  93. 

New  Castle  upon  Tyne,  267 

Newfoundland,  162,  163,  164 

New  Hampshire,  143. 

New  London,  tig,  125.  126, 
127,  131.  133,  134.  135, 
139.  14I,  224. 

Newman,   Mr.,  224. 

Newport.  45.  68,  79,  no.  120. 
122,  132,  133,  135.  139, 
168,  i6q,  170,  171.  190, 
208,  209,  223,  226.  227, 
229.  232,  237.  254. 

New  Providence.  104,  105.  no, 
n  I,   n3,   n4.   nS.  1 54. 

Newsof  Hopkins'  exploit  ouiered 
published,  125. 


278 


INDEX 


New  York,  127,   135.   136,    143, 

155.   186,  IQ7. 
Nicholas.  Capt..  113.  115. 
Nightingale.  Joseph,  146. 
Nightingale.  Samuel  Jr..  41,  43 
North     Carolina.    77.    95.    15O. 

164.  165. 
North  Providence,  incorporated, 

27-  . 
Nova  Scotia.  177. 

Olney,  Joseph,  9.  80,  log,  223. 
Orders  to  Commander-in-Chief, 
84. 
to  Captain  Stone.  91. 
Origin  of  American  Navy,  69. 
Origin  of  names  of  vessels,  82. 
Osborn,  William,  137. 
Otway,  Lieutenant,  203. 
Owen,  Captain,  26. 
Oyster  Bay,  4. 

Page,  Ambrose.   Capt..   28,   30, 

41,  43.  223    228. 
Paine,  Robert  Treat,  72. 

Thomas.  183 
Parker,  Sir  Peter,  190. 
Patience  Island.  172,  258. 
Patrick.  John.  138. 
Pearce.  Benoni    13. 
Peck,  George,  iio. 
Penobscot,  17S. 
Perry,  261. 
Petition     to     Congress     against 

Hopkins,  1S7,  188,  1S9. 
Philadelphia.    6g,    77.   gS,    104, 

126,    130,    133.    136.   137, 

152,    153.    154,    159.  162. 

igi.   195.   202.   204,  224. 

225 
Pierce,  William.  106. 
Pinkney,  Charles  C,  88,  89 

Thomas.  88. 
Pitcher,  Jonathan.  80,  107.  207. 
Plymouth,  2o3. 
Pollard,  R.    267. 
"  Polly,"  a  sloop.  57. 
Pony,  Jacob.  138. 
Pope,  76. 
Potter,  Richard.  108. 


Potter,  Stephen,  223.  230. 
William    37. 

Powder,  scarcity  of.  104. 
sent  away.  117. 

Powell,  Colonel.  Sg. 

Powel,  James.  107. 

Power,  Nicholas,  2g,  41. 

Preble,  Admiral.  267. 

Privateers  interfere  with  the 
manning  of  the  fleet,  145 

"  Providence."  81,  108,  122,  133, 
135,  136,  147,  161.  169, 
171  172,  175,  178  179, 
198.  200,  203,  207,  208, 
228. 

Providence  Cazette.  47.  246. 

Putnam,  Israel,   266. 

Quebec,  no. 
Queen  Anne,  112. 

Randall.  Stephen.  6. 
Randolph,    Peyton.  72. 
Rathbun,  John.  loS. 
Ravencroft.  Joseph,    138. 
Rawson,  Elizabeth.  207 
Read,  Joseph,  Colonel,  2c8. 
Reding,  Lewis.    13S. 
Reed,  John,  181.  186.  188,  i8g, 
igi.   ig2.   ig7,   204.  205, 
206,   222    253.   254. 
Reiney,  Christopher.  138. 
Revolution,  first  naval  tight,  66. 
Reynolds,  William.  !o8. 
Rhode  Island  College,  10.  244. 
Richards,  Peter.  loS. 
Rider.  Sidney  S. .  23g 
Roatch,  John.  138 
Roberts,  David.  108. 

Owen.  88 
Robinson,  Robert,  106. 
Robson,  T..  267. 
Rogers,  log. 

Rogers,  NVoodes.  iii.  112. 
Rome.  (Jeorge,  53. 
■'  Ro.se."  a  brig,  27. 
"  Rose,"  frigate.  40.  47,  64. 
Round   Robin,  petition   for  pay. 

137- 
Rulesof  the  Fox  Point  battery.41. 


IXDEX 


279 


Russell,  James,   138. 

Joseph.  146. 
Rutledjje.  Kdward,  166. 

John,  72. 

"Sally,"  83. 

Saltonstall,  Dudley.  80,  82,  83. 
90.  98.  150,  152,  153. 

Santiasjo,  169. 

Sauiuiers    Kobert,  107. 
Koyer.  88 

Sayles'  Memorial  Ilall,    268. 

".Scarborough,"  132. 

"  Scorpion,"  164. 

Scott,  William.  88. 

Scranton,  Daniel.    106. 

Seabury.  Benjamin.    80.  107. 

Seaconnet  river,  208,  209. 

.Seamans,  .Martin,    220. 

"  Sea  Nymph  "    162. 

Selkirk,  Ale.xander,  112. 

Sellers,  James,  180,  181,  186, 
188,  197,  220,  231,  233, 
234. 

Sessions,  Darius,  37. 

.Seymour,  Charles  .Sinclair,  121, 
124. 

Shaw,  Samuel,  iSo.  iSfi,  187. 
1S8,  i()2,  197,  204,  205, 
206,  220,  221,  222,  223, 
224. 

•Shepard,  C.    266 

Sherburn,  Colonel,   208,   209. 

Shereman,  Joseph     106. 

Ships  to  be  built  in  Rhode  Is- 
land, 145. 

Sickness  in  the  fleet,  134. 

Small  pox  in  the  fleet,    105. 

Small.  William.  138. 

tSmith,  John,    13. 
.Simon.   41,  43. 

South  Carolina,  72,  95,  117, 
156.  165. 

Spain.    169. 

Spencer,  Major  General,   203. 

Spooner.   Walter,   107. 

Sprout,  Ebenezer,  220. 

Stansbury,  80. 

Staples,  Judge,   163. 


Stillman.  George.  181,  186.  if 

197.  220.  231,  234. 
.Stirlin    John,    137. 
.St.   Lawrence    Gulf  of,    162. 
Stone.  William.  84.  88, 
.Sullivan.  John.   266. 

.Sullivan,   209. 

.Sweeney,  Richard,  138. 
.Sword.  John.  108, 


aunton     180. 

aylor,  George,  schoolmaster,  9, 

18. 
aylor,  George,  account  of,  22, 
aylor.  Job.  Capt.,  208. 
ea  party  referred  to,    32. 
ennant.  Rev.  Mr.,   89. 
estimony  in  libel  suit,  223. 
haxter.  Adam  W.,  207,  213. 
hird,  Michael.    138, 
homas.  James,    107. 
hotnpson,  Eunice.   207. 

William,  76,  138. 
horp  Michael,  138. 
illinghast,    Daniel,    146,    205, 

216,  223.  226. 
illinghast,  Nicholus,  13. 
imothy.  Mr..  89 
ower  I  nil.  40. 
rony,  Michael.    107. 
rowden,  James.    121. 
ruman,  John.    181,    186,    18S, 

197,  220.  231.  235. 
rumbuil,    Jonathan,     82,    1 19, 

133.  156.  163. 
urpin.    William.   9, 
yler,  Nathan,  Colonel,  208.  209. 
Samuel,    106. 


Updike,  John,   41,   43, 
Upton,  209. 

\'an  Tromp,    134, 
Vaughan,  Daniel.  80. 

Ihomas,    107. 
Varrel,  Francis,    107. 
Verses  commemorative  of  Hop- 
kins' exploit,    127. 
Vesey,    Mr.,    175 


28o 


IXDEX 


"  Viper,"  H.  B.  M.   Sloop,   57. 

Virginia.  72,  95.  142,  154, 

156,  165 

"Wainscot,"  a  brig,  16. 
Wallace,  James,  40,  45,  65.  68, 

120,  122,  139. 
Wallace,  James,  letter  to  town  of 

Newport.   47. 
letter  to  Gov.  Cooke.    65. 
letter  to  Abraham  Whipple, 

68. 
Wanton,  Jonas.    28. 
Wanton,   Joseph,  Gov..   37.  59. 
Ward,  Henry,  ^ec'y.,  23,  24.  38, 

39-  44- 

Ward,  Samuel,    14.  23.  Si,  159. 

Warner,  Elijah,  108. 
Elisha.   80. 

"Warren,"  147,  169,  171,  172, 
175,  177.  178,  179.  181, 
182,  185,  186,  187.  189, 
192,  196,  197,  198,  199, 
200,  204,  205,  206,  209, 
213,  214,  218.  219.  228, 
231,   132.   233,   234,  235, 

257- 
Warwick.  171,  172,  173,  199. 
Washington,    General,     79,    80, 

104,  135.  153. 
"  Washington,"  a  vessel.  63. 
"Wasp,"  91.  113,  118,   178. 
Wayn,  Joseph.  138 
Weaver.   Thomas,  80,  108.  113. 

William,   106. 
Webb.  James,  Captain,  209. 
Weeks,  200. 


Welch,  John,  108. 
West  Indies,  146.   229. 
West,  James.  1S3,  184. 

Robert,  2. 

William,  Colonel.  44.  79. 
Whipple,  Abraham.  33.  40.  63, 
64,  68,  80.  81,  83.  129, 
132.  133,  ISO.  152,  153, 
172,  174,  198,  207,  208, 
209,   211,   212.   214. 

note  to  James  Wallace.  68. 

demands  a  court  martial, 
129. 

ordered  to  Philadelphia,  152. 
White.  Lyons.  88. 
Wickenden.  William.  4. 
Wicks.  Thomas.  37. 
Wild.  Edward,  Dr..  28. 

Mary  J.,  29. 
Wilkeson,  James.  137. 
Wilkinson,  Plain.  4. 

Ruth,  4. 

Samuel,  4. 
Williams,  Roger,  2. 
Williamson,  Frank  A.,  no. 
Wilson.  James  Hoard,  121. 

Lieutenant,    124. 
Winsor,  266,  267. 
Wooster,  General,  158.  161. 
Wrixon,  Mr.,  161. 
Wyoming,  J43. 

Vorke,  John.  106. 
Voung,  John,  106,  13S. 

Zobly,  Rev'.  Dr.,  72.  73. 


THE  COLONIAL  TAVERN 

A  Glimpse  of  New  England  Town  Life  in 
the  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth  Century. 

15y    KDWAHl)    FIELD. 


Cloth,  octavo,  290  pages.         PnicE,  §-^.00  net. 


A  century  or  more  ag-o  the  tavern  wa.s  au  impor- 
tant institution  in  the  life  of  New  Enf,'land  and  the 
center  of  town  activities.  Around  these  old  taverns 
with  their  cavernous  fireplaces  and  well  -  stocked 
buifet  the  author  has  groui)ed  many  quaint  char- 
acters of  real  life  in  scenes  of  actual  occurrence. 
Old  diaries,  court  records,  letters,  town  and  county 
records  and  histories  have  supplied  the  material  for 
these  pictures  of  colonial  life. 

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secution and  romantic  love  recall  many  interesting 
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important  part  played  by  the  tavern  in  the  struggle 
for  independence. 


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Mr.  Field  has  presented  a  gossipy,  entertaining 
sketch  of  this  servant  of  the  social  wantn  of 
early  New  England."'— 27(e  Sation. 


THE  MAGAZINE 

....OF.... 

NEW  ENGLAND  HISTORY, 

FOR  1 89 1,  J 892,  1893. 

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WHAT  CHEER 

— OR— 

ROGER  WILLIAMS  IN  BANISHMENT. 

A  Poem  by  .IOB  DriiFKK. 

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A  Summer  Visit  of  Three  Rhode  Islanders 
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An  account  of  the  visit  of  Dii.  John  Clarke, 
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OF  THE  Baptist  Church  in  Newport,  11.  I  ,  to 
William  Witter  of  Swampscott,  Mass  ,  in  July, 
luol  :  its  innocent  purpose  and  its  painful  con- 
sequences. 


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the  author." — 77ie   Watchman. 


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Revolutionary  Defences  in  Rhode  Island, 

An  Historical  Account  of  the  Fortifications  and 
Beacons  erected  during  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, WITH  Muster  Rolls  of  the  Companies  sta- 
tioned AL0N(i  the  Shores  of  Narragansett  Bay, 
WITH  Maps,  Plans  and  Illustrations. 


By    EDWARD    FIELD. 

Past  President  of  the  Rhode  Island  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the 

American  Revolution. 


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This  volume  contains  an  account  of  the  various  works  of 
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they  were  built,  and  the  names  of  the  officers  and  enlisted  men 
located  at  many  of  them  at  various  periods  of  the  war. 

For  nearly  three  years  the  British  Army  was  located  within 
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History  of  the  State    of    Rhode  Island 

and  Providence  Plantations, 

J  636- 1790. 

By  SAMUEL    GREENE   ARNOLD. 
New  Edition.     2  vols.     Octavo.     574  and  600  pp.     S7.50,  net. 


Governor  Arnold's  History  of  Rhode  Island,  based  upon  a 
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and  in  the  Rhode  Island  State  Archives,  supplemented  Ijy  in- 
vestigations at  Paris  and  The  Hague,  has  from  its  pubhcation 
been  the  authoritative  history  of  the  State. 

Genealogical  students  will  find  in  these  volumes  the  names  of 
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This  work  is  of  much  more  than  local  interest,  as  the  experi- 
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portance far  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  the  State. 


"  One  of  the  best  State  histories  ever  written  is  S.  G.  Arnold's  His- 
tory of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations."  — John 

FiSKE. 

"The  best  history  of  Rhode  Island  is  that  of  Arnold."  — Prof. 
George  P.  Fisher,  Yale  University. 

"Mr.  Samuel  Greene  Arnold  in  his  history  of  Rhode  Island  has 
brought  together  all  the  extant  materials.  He  brings  out  more  clearly 
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ments." —  Prof.  John  A.  Doyle,  Oxford. 

"A  work  prepared  after  long  and  careful  research.  Probably  no 
student  has  ever  made  himself  more  familiar  with  the  history  of  Rhode 
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formation."-Pkes.  Ch.\rles  Kend.\ll  Adams,  Cornell  University. 


SENT   POSTPAID   BY   THE   PUBLISHERS. 


Tax  Lists  of  the  Town  of  Providence 

During  the  Administration  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros 
and  his  Council, 

J 686- I 689. 

Compiled  by  EDWARD  FIELD,  A.B., 

Member  of  the  Rhode  island  Historical  Society,  and  one  of  the 
Record  Commissioners  of  the  City  of  Provide7ice. 

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coinprises  copies  of  warrants  issued  by  order  of  the  Council  for 
the  assessment  and  collection  of  taxes,  the  tax  lists  or  rate  bills- 
prepared  pursuant  to  these  warrants,  the  returns  made  by  the 
townsmen  of  their  ratable  property,  and  the  Tax  Laws  enacted 
by  Andros  and  his  Council.  All  of  these,  with  the  exception 
of  the  laws,  are  here  printed  for  the  first  time. 

Among  the  rate  bills  is  the  list  of  polls  for  1688,  which  con- 
tains the  names  of  all  males  sixteen  years  of  age  and  upivards 
living  in  Providence  in  August  of  that  year  ;  practically  a  census 
of  the  town.  For  the  genealogist  and  historian  this  volume  con- 
tains material  of  the  greatest  value  on  account  of  the  great  num- 
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amount  of  the  tax  assessment  in  each  case. 

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for  they  tell  in  the  quaint  language  of  the  colonists  what  they 
possess,  and  therefore  shed  much  light  on  the  condition  of  the 
times.  For  a  study  of  this  episode  in  New  England  Colonial 
History  this  work  is  invaluable. 

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feature  of  this  work. 

The  edition  is  limited  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  numbered 
copies. 

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MARY    DYER 

OF  RHODE  ISLAND, 

The  Quakf.k  Maktyk  that  was  Hangkd  on  Boston^ 
Common,  June  1,  KilJO. 


Bv     IIOHATIO     K0(;EKS, 
Associate  .lustiee  of  tlie  Supreme  Court  of  Khode  Island. 


The  aiathor  has  g:athered  from  many  sources  the 
scattered  facts  relating  to  the  career  of  Mary  Dyer 
and  woven  them  into  a  detailed  narrative,  so  that 
the  trai^ic  story  of  her  life  is  now  for  the  first  time 
adequately  told.  By  adding  a  brief  but  compre- 
hensive sketch  of  the  manner  and  sentiments  of 
her  times  he  has  furnished  a  background  or  frame- 
work for  his  subject  which  adds  much  to  tlH>  in 
terest  of  the  volume  by  enabling  the  reader  the 
better  to  understand  the  surroundings  of  the  char- 
acters he  poi'traj^s.  The  important  documents  re- 
lating to  her  trial  are  printed  in  tlie  appendix. 

Cloth,   12mo.,   115  pages.     Price  f  1.00  nat. 

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NEW  ENGLAND  WILD  FLOWERS 
AND  THEIR  SEASONS. 


By   W.  WHITMAN'    BAILEY. 

PROFESSOK    OF    BOTANY    IN    KROWN    UNIVERSITY. 


Cloth,  16mo.     Uniform  with  "  R.  I.  Wihl  Flowers." 
75  cents  net. 


From  long  wanderings  afield  the  author  has 
caught  the  charm  of  the  varying  moods  of  our 
New  England  year  and  pictures  them  for  the  reader 
with  sympathetic  touch. 

The  characteristics  of  the  conspicuous  and  dom- 
inant flowers  of  the  mouths  are  sketched  in  l)road 
lines,  rendering  identification  easy. 

The  flowers  of  the  White  and  Green  Mountains 
—  our  alpine  flora  —  receive  separate  treatment,  as 
do  also  the  flowers  of  the  sea -shore  —  our  coast 
flora. 

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THE  EAST  INDIA  TRADE 
OF  PROVIDENCE, 

From  1787  to  1807. 
BY  GERTRUDE  SELWYN  KIMBALL. 

By  a  careful  study  of  \ocr  hooks  and  com- 
mercial i^ajiers  of  the  old  sliipping-  firms,  the 
author  is  enabled  to  present  an  interesting 
jiicture  of  the  East  India  Trade  of  Providence 
in  its  palmy  days. 

8vo.   34  pages,  paper,  50  cents  net. 

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SAMUELL  GORTON: 

FIRST  SETTLER  OF  WARWICK,  R.  I. 
A  FORGOTTEN  FOUNDER  OF  OUR  LIBERTIES 


By  lewis  G.  janes,  M.  A. 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE    BUOOKLTN    ETHICAL   ASSOCIATION 


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with    '  Mary  Dyer"  and  "Summer  Visit. 


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It  is  the  first  o^-atematic  attempt  to  give  candid 
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ligious views,  and  is  of  equal  interest  to  the  theolo- 
gian and  historical  student. 


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THE  HOMERIC   PALACE. 


By    NOK.MAN    .\1.   1!>1IA.M. 


Illustrated  nr  Eleven  Full-Page  Plates.     Octavi 
Clotu.    $1.00  net. 


The  Homeric  Palace  is  an  attempt,  in  an  inex- 
pensive and  convenient  form,  to  set  the  main  lines 
of  the  royal  dwelling  of  Homeric  times  before  the 
reader  of  to-day. 

The  text  collects  the  main  facts  about  the  dilliTent 
parts  of  the  palace.  The  drawin^^s  show  the  plans 
of  the  great  strongholds,  Troy,  Tiryns,  Arne,  My- 
ceuse,  and  gather  into  one  plate  the  various  types 
of  rampart  walls,  into  another  the  gates  and  ap- 
proaches. Bird's-eye  views  show,  in  one  plate,  four 
stages  or  steps  in  the  building  of  a  palace,  in  another 
a  restoration,  which  is  half  plan,  half  section  and 
elevation  combined,  of  the  palace  at  Tiryns,  a  view 
which,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  never  before  been 
published,  much  as  that  building  has  been  drawn 
and  restored. 

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venient text  or  reference  book,  nnd  to  the  teacher  of 
Homer  it  will  be  invaluable. 


NEARLY  READY... 


EARLY 
CONNECTICUT   HOUSES. 


By  XOKMAX  M.  ISOAM  and  ALBERT  F.  BROWN. 


Illustrated  with  a  Map  and  over  One  Hundred  Duawinos. 
Large  8vo.     L'niforsi  with  "Early  Rhode  Island  Houses," 

BY   THE    same   AUTHORS.        PRICE,    $2.50   NET. 


This  book  treats  the  early  bouses  of  Connecticut 
in  the  same  way  in  which  its  predecessor  treated  the 
dwellings  of  Rhode  Island. 

The  same  accuracy  of  measurement  and  drawing 
and  the  same  careful  description  of  the  early  work 
characterize  the  new  volume. 

The  work  describes  a  large  number  of  houses  in 
Hartford  and  its  neighborhood,  in  New  London,  and 
in  New  Haven  and  the  towns  confederated  with  it. 

Much  new  information  will  be  found  in  the  chap- 
ter on  Construction,  and  the  relation  with  Engli-sh 
work  is  considered  in  the  light  of  further  study  of 
examples  in  the  old  country. 

Edition  limited. 


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